Club lists debt to asset ratio at 10-to-1
By Taylor Anderson Explorebigsky.com Assistant Editor
In a flash fire move that left more than 100 employees jobless and members wondering what they’ll lose, Spanish Peaks Holdings II filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in a court in Delaware in the second week of October.
The move comes just days after owners sent letters to members and employees saying it had released all staff and closed its doors indefinitely.
The club listed its assets in court filings at between $10,000,001 and $50,000,000 and its liabilities to creditors at between $100,000,001 and $500 million.
The club doesn’t quite parallel actions taken by the Yellowstone Club when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008. That club remained open while during a court reorganization process and still operates today.
Because Spanish Peaks filed Chapter 7, the club will not continue operations, and its assets will be liquidated to cover its debts to creditors.
Letters to its members routinely cited the sad state of the real estate market to explain why it wouldn’t remain in operation.
Sources close to the subject report that owners have begun a process of forming a legal group called an ad hoc to retain rights of ownership. The estimated 248 members will band together to control operations of the Spanish Peaks Owners Association, which controls security personnel and snow removal services.
Moonlight Basin Ski Resort followed the Yellowstone Club into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009, and today is owned by the Lehman Brothers investment group – which also has filed for Chapter 11.
Spanish Peaks Holdings II had a long list of debt collectors on its bankruptcy filings, and many of them are local entities.
The filings portray the effects a bad national economy has had on high-priced exclusive resorts in the Big Sky area.
Tune into explorebigsky.com for daily updates on the proceedings.
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