CONTROL of lawn bowls and bar trading is set to be returned to the Queanbeyan Bowling Club's board after the club's creditors voted in favour of the administration's deed of company arrangement on Monday.
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While voluntary administrators of the club RSM Bird Cameron will still have control over the management, supervision and administration of the club's business, property and affairs to enforce the deed, it also allowed for limited bar trading and lawn bowls action to be managed by the club again.
Administration will still overlook the club's budget, regulatory work health and safety safeguards, and the work of volunteers, but administrator Tim Gumbleton said at the moment the club was in the right position to recommence managing lawn bowls.
"Subject to ticking the boxes in terms of regulation and workplace health and safety and budget, certainly control for bowling has been returned to the directors," Gumbleton said.
"We're still working with them around the budget to ensure that they can pay for the ongoing costs of the club."
Club president John Britton said it was a positive to see his club heading in the right direction.
"Everything is moving forward, and there is light at the end of the tunnel," he said.
"We'll have the bar running with volunteer staff on a Saturday and Sunday afternoon after bowls, and that'll help bring a few more dollars in again."
In more developments, Gumbleton confirmed his administration would focus an amalgamation with another club, with two clubs expressing interest in merging with the Queanbeyan Bowling Club.
The option was detailed in the deed of company arrangement, along with other restructure options for the club including selling all or part of the club's property, leasing all or part of its land, joining ventures with a third party, and obtaining third party deed funds and donations.
But Gumbleton said the interest in amalgamation from potential partners, which are commercially in confidence, was looking positive.
"Our focus at the moment is pursuing an amalgamation with two interested parties, and we're dedicating a lot of time into that," he said.
"That would seem to be in the best interest of the club generally going forward."
The deed of company arrangement was put together by Gumbleton's administration along with a four man sub-committee made up of former Queanbeyan Local Court magistrate John Selmes, retired property developer David Loft, Queanbeyan Bowling Club president John Britton and general manger Shane Holland.
While it did not detail a definitive restructure plan for the club to pay its near $800,000 of owed funds to creditors, Gumbleton said its outline of all the options the club had were taken on board well by the creditors.
"The key is what's being offered is 100 cents for every dollar, and what's offered on the table is the opportunity for the club to continue," he said.
"Everyone wants to get paid, and if they get paid and the club continues its existence, then it's a win-win situation."
Gumbleton hopes to have all debt paid within a year, but the deed outlined a two-year timeframe.
Meanwhile the house on the club's property will go under the auction hammer on November 29, and is hoped to sell for around $500,000 which would cover the club's secure creditor, the National Australia Bank.