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Singapore private club 1880 suddenly closes; founder says it has no funds to pay staff and suppliers, Lifestyle News

Singapore private club 1880 suddenly closes; founder says it has no funds to pay staff and suppliers, Lifestyle News

AsiaOne4 days ago

SINGAPORE — Private members' club 1880 announced its sudden closure on June 17 after almost eight years in business, with its holding and operating companies placed under provisional liquidation.
The club, located in Robertson Quay, explained the closure in e-mail and WhatsApp messages to members in the early hours of June 17. It said it could not secure several offers to invest in or acquire 1880, and has no funds to pay staff and suppliers.
The message, which was seen by The Straits Times, was signed off by Canadian founder Marc Nicholson. It said: "The club and all its operations will cease immediately. Please do not come to the premises as the doors will be locked."
Nicholson said in the message that the holding company 38 Degrees and the operating company 1880 Pte Ltd have been placed into provisional liquidation, and that details about the liquidation process and the creditors' meeting will be forthcoming.
The club comprised a co-working space, restaurant, bar and spa for members. It hosted trivia nights, forums and dialogues with personalities from diplomats to explorers and entrepreneurs.
Its closure follows the sudden closure of its Hong Kong branch on May 30, after less than seven months in operation. It was also building a property in Bali.
In the message, Nicholson said visitors had been spending less and going less often, adding that "the company needed an injection and some efficiency optimisation".
There were three offers to invest in or acquire 1880, he said. ST understands that potential investors included a sovereign wealth fund and a privately held real estate group.
"(Any one) of these would have restored us to health and given a runway to building a global brand. I was extremely excited believing in my heart that our future was secure and bright," Nicholson wrote.
"We were however unsuccessful in getting those offers over the line. With no further funds to pay our staff or suppliers we have no alternative but to close."
The message also alluded to the club's expansion efforts as contributing to its collapse.
Said Nicholson: "We created a brand that earned a reputation that brought opportunities for expansion that I could not resist.
"Call it hubris, arrogance, capitalism, or stupidity, I am solely to blame for the failure of 1880."
ST has contacted 1880 for comment.
As at June 16, it appeared to be business as usual at 1880, with the club still promoting events on its social media pages.
One of the club's founding members, Andrew Chan, said he was still getting updates for events that were two weeks away.
But he also said the writing was on the wall after 1880's biggest annual White Party was cancelled and its Hong Kong outlet was shuttered.
"In recent times being at the club, it was a lot quieter," said Chan, who runs a recruitment and professional training firm in the hospitality sector.
"But I'm not upset, it's just business, and F&B businesses are struggling... I've seen it firsthand as someone who works in the sector... I feel more for the staff of 1880, they were great people."
Ben Jones, co-founder of Mandala Club in Bukit Pasoh Road, which is another player on the scene, said: "The closure of 1880 marks a significant moment for Singapore's cultural and social scene."
Jones added: "As a fellow private members' club, we recognise the vision and effort it takes to create spaces that bring communities together in meaningful ways." He declined to comment on the specifics of 1880's business challenges.
[[nid:719111]]
This article was first published in The Straits Times . Permission required for reproduction.

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A view of Escombreras port, where energy companies including Repsol take delivery of oil, gas and biofuel cargoes, near Cartagena, Spain. PHOTO: MEGAN ROWLING, CLIMATE HOME NEWS Repsol's heavy reliance on Malaysian supplies exposes it to fraud risks that raise wider questions about global assertions over the sustainability of SAF. Asked what steps it takes to fight fraud, Repsol said it operates a rigorous supplier monitoring system to ensure the sustainability and integrity of its SAF production. A 'very strong' compliance process means dubious raw materials and suppliers suspected of misconduct are quickly weeded out, it added. 'Any type of fraud distorts the market and undermines the confidence in the system, so it must be fought with all possible legal means,' the company said in e-mailed comments. 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The Singapore Airlines Group said it works closely with its partners to ensure supplies meet internationally recognised standards such as the ISCC, and comply with regulatory requirements in jurisdictions with SAF mandates. Workers weigh the used cooking oil before Evergreen Oil and Feed's purchase. PHOTO: SAIRIEN NAFIS Spot checks, patchy audits There is a system in place to keep fraudulent stocks out of the supply chain. Buyers and regulators in Europe rely on audit companies to trace the raw materials used in SAF and prove their green credentials. Those audits are verified by authorised certification systems like the ISCC – which is led by the biofuel industry and, according to one source, enjoys 'a kind of monopoly' in the sector. It then issues sustainability certificates to commodities traders and fuel suppliers. According to the ISCC, its certification supports 'sustainable, fully traceable, deforestation-free and climate-friendly supply chains'. 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'There are always bad actors, there are always bad people, and there's only a certain amount of policing that can be done in any industry,' said Mr Kirby. 'We at ISCC have done, I think, an incredible job.' The ISCC did not respond to follow-up questions from Climate Home News on whether it has full confidence in the current system, including self-declaration. A European Commission spokeswoman said the bloc's executive arm was closely monitoring the SAF market 'to detect and prevent fraud, which risks undermining the EU's ambition to effectively decarbonise air transport'. Two sample jars show used restaurant frying grease (right) and the refined end product of biodiesel. PHOTO: REUTERS Demand for UCO sizzles Demand for SAF and UCO is only expected to increase as usage in Europe, Asia and elsewhere grows and as new refineries are completed in China, South Korea and Malaysia. In 2024, Malaysia's state energy firm Petronas, Italy's Enilive, and Euglena of Japan announced they would develop a biorefinery at Petronas' Pengerang Integrated Complex in Johor. Due for completion in 2028, it would produce SAF and other biofuels. Malaysia plans to mandate SAF usage by 2027, with the initial goal of blending it into aviation fuel at a 1 per cent rate. Leading European refiners like Repsol are pushing for a level global playing field as well as more public funding to bring down costs and help develop the nascent sector on the continent. Iata warned earlier in June that the European mandates had caused the SAF price paid by airlines to double because of hefty compliance fees being charged by producers. Repsol's aviation head Carlos Suarez Cubillo warned that fuel producers in parts of the world with laxer rules could produce SAF 'with less regulation and less control of the feedstock... and here in Europe that could de-incentivise the production, the construction of new facilities'. In Brazil, for example, an emerging SAF industry is gearing up to use crop-based feedstocks that are commonly linked to deforestation – and are therefore banned in Europe – such as soya and palm oil, as well as sugarcane-based ethanol, which has been linked to labour abuses and modern slavery. An investigation by Climate Home News' partner in Brazil, InfoAmazonia, found that the palm oil producer behind a planned biorefinery in the Amazon region – billed as Brazil's first SAF project – is growing the crop on land areas subject to sanctions by the national environment agency over illegal deforestation, and is struggling financially after rights abuse allegations. 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