Manchester Irish Club for sale despite outrage of members

Manchester Irish Club is being put up for sale, despite outraged club members claiming that they have not been consulted on the decision to sell the site. Colliers International has been appointed by the club’s trustees to sell the two-storey building, located on a 0.81-acre site on High Lane/Cross Road. In order to “maximise interest in the property from the widest possible range of prospective owners”, Colliers International said it would not be marketing the property for a specific type of future use. However, the trustees’ move to sell the club sparked outrage from its members, who claim they had not been consulted over the decision to market the club even though it is owned by members and held under a trust. A spokesman for the Friends of Chorlton Irish members group said: “There’s been no consultation with the membership about the sale. No accounts have been produced for members. And crucially, no information has been given as to what will happen to the proceeds of any sale. “The decision to go to market now, when there is no prospect of members meeting because of Covid-19, is shocking. But there’s a long way to go yet.” The club’s trustees announced in a statement last April that they had seized control of the premises because of “successive years of failure to manage the VAT accounts of the club and recent failure to produce annual accounts to the members for inspection”. Eight months after the trustees took over the running of the club, an open letter was sent from the club’s members stating that although the intervention was “widely welcomed at the time”, there was “much concern about the club’s future”. To send feedback, e-mail lucy.alderson@egi.co.uk or tweet @LucyAJourno or @estatesgazette