European Multi-Course Owners Pledge to Create Structure of Co-operation

Amsterdam, NL - 5. January 2011: The second successful European Multi-Course Owners (MCO) Meeting took place in London on 30. November 2010 during the European Golf Business Conference. The meeting, hosted by the EGCOA, was held at the prestigious Caledonian Club in London's Belgravia and was attended by around 40 participants, representing 20 of Europe's largest golf operators from over 10 countries.

The annual Multi-Course Owners Meeting is aimed at owners and operators of 3 or more courses. Many of Europe's largest golf course proprietors and operators come together at this event each year to share ideas and information on market developments and the future of the golf industry.

Lodewijk Klootwijk, Director of the EGCOA said: "The positive value of this MCO network was re-confirmed by participants at this year's gathering. The power of this group is based on the sharing of information. Our main objectives are to exchange ideas for growing the game, as well as on benchmarking and the sharing of best practices. Another key task is the representation of the golf industry in Brussels on a wide range of legislative issues. The VAT question, for example, is an issue which holds great interest from the MCO's, and is something which we hope to address as a unified group."

During the meeting, the EGCOA was formally requested by the MCO representatives to set in place a formal structure of co-operation to effectively share best practices and achieve stronger representation.

"These are challenging times for the golf industry," added Klootwijk. "We look forward to working on a closer basis with our MCO colleagues in 2011 to meet these challenges and to find real solutions."

Read the full press release here!