THE troubled Letham Grange Country Club and Resort in Arbroath finally is to be sold after a judge threw out a last-ditch bid by its Taiwanese proprietor to hang on to the deeds.
The ruling, in the Court of Session, draws a line under a bizarre tale of brinkmanship which saw Dong Guang Liu effectively sell the hotel to himself before its holding com-
pany collapsed.
Grant Thornton's Matt Henderson has been unable to include the hotel in the winding-up of Letham Grange Development because the hotel was previously sold at a knock-down price to one J Michael Colby. Colby, who purportedly headed a Canadian firm called Nova Scotia, turned out to be Liu.
Liu sold the hotel to Colby - or rather himself - in February 2001 for (pounds) 248,100. This was a far cry from the (pounds) 2.1m he paid in 1994. Letham Grange was once one of Scotland's top hotels, and still offers plush accommodation, a restaurant, and an ice rink with a thriving curling club.
Liu's legal agents warned him at the time that any future liquidator of Letham Grange could ''attack'' the sale if the transfer took place at a figure less than the true value.
That scenario unfolded after Henderson was installed as liquidator in February 2003.
Henderson valued the hotel at (pounds) 1.8m and, last December, successfully persuaded Lord Carloway to nullify the sale in the Court of Session.
Liu refused to buckle, however, submitting fresh evidence purporting to show, among other things, that Nova Scotia had assumed (pounds) 1.9m of the hotel's debts.
Carloway dismissed these amended pleadings in a fresh judgment yesterday.
He ruled that there was ''no defence'' against Henderson's case and that there is ''no genuine issue to try''.
Carloway issued a summary decree in the liquidator's favour, which means the title to Letham Grange Resort will revert from the Liu family company back to the liquidated company.
Henderson said he will be making a report on the conduct of Letham Grange Development's directors to the Department of Trade and Industry.
He added: ''This has been a long-running dispute with little or no defence provided by the Liu family, and it is gratifying that the courts have now decided in my favour and sale of the property will be arranged as soon as possible. This case has gone on for an inordinate amount of time, and I am relieved and satisfied with the outcome of the case and happy that we can now move on and sell this business to someone who can appreciate and fully develop its potential.''
Henderson said there has been ''an extraordinary level of interest'' in Letham Grange and he does not foresee any problem in finding a buyer. Trade creditors, together owed (pounds) 700,000, should get at least some of their money back. Henderson is also expecting a six-figure claim from the Inland Revenue.
Members of the Liu family are owed (pounds) 2m by Letham Grange Development.
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