Bluegreen Golf

During our relatively short ownership of Blue Green, we created a more viable business with a stronger balance sheet and an excellent portfolio of golf courses, including some of the finest in France. Blue Green is the largest golf course owner and operator in Europe. We acquired the French-based company in 1997 from CDRI, the French government body responsible for disposing of assets previously owned by Credit Lyonnais. We acquired the golf club and hotel chain against tough trade competition. Our success was due to our knowledge of the leisure sector and the in-depth due diligence and negotiations we conducted. Blue Green European Holding S.A. originally owned 29 golf courses, seven hotels and other real estate assets throughout France and in Belgium. In the twelve months leading up to the acquisition we worked with the vendor to structure the target business in a way that would minimise the acquisition risks. We were able to sell off some of the considerable real estate held by Blue Green, releasing capital to repay gearing and reducing the risk to shareholders. After the acquisition Blue Green sold ten of its golf courses and six of its hotels. The Group now dominates the French commercial golf course market with a particularly strong presence in the Paris region. It also owns some of the highest-ranked golf courses in France including Seignosse in the South West, Sainte Maxime on the Riviera and Pleneuf-Val Andre in Brittany. In October 2004, we sold our investment to Burggolf Investments BV, a Dutch-based golf course operator.