Wentworth Members Fight Back

As we reported last month, members of Wentworth are up in arms at plans by its new Chinese owners to double their annual dues and levy a massive joining fee. Now's there's talk of a fight back and legal action from the members.

The club has argued that it needs new investment to improve facilities, and that its members should pay up.

But many of the 4,000 members and residents who live on Wentworth's leafy private estate were shocked to be told that they must reapply for membership, and pay a one-off £100,000 fee for the privilege.

They have also been told that annual charges would double to £16,000. To make matters worse, the club wants to cull the number of members to just 800.

Wentworth residents are meeting to discuss how to proceed, and they could go to court.

"There are distinct legal implications in their actions. Failure to listen will bring Reignwood into disrepute and be a terrible case study for China-UK relations," local resident Nigel Moss said in a statement.

The founder of Reignwood, the new owners of Wentworth is billionaire Chanchai Ruayrungruang, a Thai-Chinese national.

Reignwood owns a mixture of finance, real estate and leisure assets, including the Pine Valley Golf Club & Resort near Beijing. It also recently bought the Princeville Golf Resort in Hawaii.