For almost three decades the Kowloon Club has offered a prestigious venue for executives, entrepreneurs and professionals to meet, eat and drink. But financial difficulties after a move to a new location have forced it to close its doors for good.
The private club, founded by former chief secretary David Akers-Jones in 1984, closed yesterday, with many of its problems blamed on its move from the New World Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui to the Harbourfront Horizon hotel in Hung Hom in 2009.
'As founder chairman of the club, it's a very sad occasion for me,' Akers-Jones said. 'I'm extremely sad about what has happened and for all the other members and people that have been involved over the years.
'I have some great memories of the club in that time and we have tried our best to keep it going, but it just proved impossible as it wasn't financially viable.'
Akers-Jones said the financial climate meant a new Kowloon Club would not be viable, and there were no plans to re-establish it.
He said the move from the top floor of the New World Centre on Salisbury Road, opposite East Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station and close to the Space Museum and Sogo department store, had been a major cause of the exclusive club's demise.