Clubhouse Regeneration - Update

Dear Members,

Hopefully you will have seen the latest images of the Clubhouse Regeneration Scheme in the clubhouse. This is an exciting phase of development for Old College Tennis Club.

This redesign will give us a modern space that meets the needs of members and coaches but is, above all, a welcoming, inclusive and comfortable space that members will enjoy for many decades to come. We will be able to host many more social and tennis events but it will also be a place for members to spend time, watch tennis and socialise. It has been designed for active use by our current membership of around 900 members, our families, friends and the wider community.

Further information and the latest presentation which took place on 21st April is here: https://oldcollege.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/clubhouse-membership-update_v10.pdf. You can also listen to the discussion at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SQ4jEYa340h3--W7lIxJr9W6DL2DKNKf/view?usp=sharing

The next stages are:

Request builders to tender for the construction.
Raise the funds to pay for it.

For this large capital project the Club will need to raise £500K of funds (planned to begin at the end of 2026).

As a first step we intend to ask for voluntary support donations from members and aim to raise £250K through this route. The club can reclaim GiftAid for these donations so the money can go further.
Secondly, we will be approaching third parties for loans and grants and aim to raise £250K, though this could take some time and the outcome is uncertain.
Finally, like many other sports organisations, we could seek to raise any shortfall through a compulsory Special Capital Contribution (SCC).

The SCC would have to be approved by members at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) - this vote would take place in July. The Club Committee will set the amount of any SCC based on the funds raised from steps 1 and 2. Our intention is to keep it as low as the project requirements will allow. It will apply it to all adult members equally and is not an alternative to a donation.

We will be setting up a JustGiving page shortly. In the meantime, if you would like to make a donation please contact Bob Henderson or Caroline Beck.

If you have any queries please don’t hesitate to contact Caroline Beck, Bob Henderson, Alyson Fox, Aruna Iyengar or Sean Bidder.

Best wishes, Caroline

27/04/2026