The prestigious venue,known as the “spiritual home of Australian tennis”,had managed to turn profits during the pandemic despite lockdown restrictions.
The club’s loss-making year has now led to the early departure of the club’s chef and the unusual move of calling in an external auditor to review its books.
Club president Adam Cossar confirmed to this masthead a chef had resigned over what Cossar described as “the food and beverage issue loss”,but said there was no suggestion that funds had been misappropriated.
“The board has approved the appointment of a firm to conduct an independent review … to investigate exactly how this,in absolute terms,come to bear,” Cossar said.
The club’s financial position was raised at Kooyong’s annual general meeting last month,when the executive team revealed that despite an increase in memberships and record operational levels,Kooyong had posted a loss of $962,652,a seven-figure swing from the previous year’s $980,000 profit.
The Kooyong treasurer’s official explanation in the annual report attributes the cost blowout to catering and staff costs. The report also noted that the club’s long-time CEO,Chris Brown,would undertake a review of the catering department.