Dear Members,
First of all, a very Happy (belated) New Year to you all from the Management team.
It seems such a long time since the AGM, with so many "moving parts", given the major storm in July. We therefore thought it timely to update you on where we stand on the continued investments in the Club.
Bottom line: we expect that we will be able to invest a further €200K in the Club this year, repairing storm damage and opening up a cost-effective option for padel, if (and only if) Members wish to see this new sport at SAC.
The July storm caused well over €150K in damage, which has made the insurance process particularly demanding in terms of documentation requirements, process complexity and length.
Given the delays and uncertainties, we:
1) have focused on investments where timeliness was important, while planning for the most efficient use of any funds received and ...
2)... will now focus on (insurance-related) spend.
Approximately €90K in time-critical investments have therefore already taken place, or have been authorised, since the AGM.
|
Investment |
Amount (€ thousands) |
Why it was time-critical |
|
Marquis |
50 |
Necessary for revenue-generating events and Classic Car Day |
|
Squash court roof |
15 |
There have been water infiltration issues since the 2010s, which have caused floor and wall damage. A "stop-gap" roof patching was done in 2019. The problems recurred in 2022, and we have progressively addressed slopes and drainage (basketball court surface and drains), downspouts leaks and replacement of the nearby (leaking) bac a graisse. Some problems persisted into 2025. The roof levels were therefore corrected and the roofing replaced, together with a new access hatch. We are now monitoring to see that the root cause is resolved before repairing interior damage. |
|
Swimming pool cover |
8 |
Necessary to protect our swimming pool; after production delays it was completed last week and installation is scheduled for 22/1/26, led by David Stabat |
|
Commission de Securité and insurance |
15 |
A number of items have been outstanding for over 10 years, such that it is critical to ensure that we are in compliance at the spring 2026 inspection. While much of this is not visible (compliance certificates on our installations, etc.) you will see a new sliding entrance door (the current one is non-compliant) and enhanced signage. Many of the certification steps were also required for our insurance filing (led by Gigi Cothier, with lots of work from Caroline Lambert) |
For the moment, only a small amount of the insurance funds has been paid; the balance will be paid as our insurers approve the invoices for insurance-related work. We therefore need to manage this process very carefully.
A small team (led by Roland Tchertoff in consultation with Matt Curtin and the Tennis Committee and the Padel working group) is therefore working to restore and upgrade our floodlit synthetic court capacity, while putting us in a position to discuss a financially achievable proposal for padel, if (and only if) we as Members choose this route. Hence, by June, the team will:
-
Ensure that we have a brand-new synthetic court (following the storm damage to Court 7), with state-of-the-art lighting
-
Upgrade our electrical infrastructure to support future events and tennis court lighting
-
Replace sections of tennis court fencing
-
Replace the storm-damaged cricket net
-
Complete a financially achievable proposal for 2 permanent padel courts, for Member consideration.
We are looking forward to discussing all of this and more at the AGM, which is now only 5 months away.
The Management Committee
World Wide Villa Club
www.cityuniversityclub.co.uk
The Nottingham Club