LATEST
NEWS

Valderrama bought by Zagaleta in surprise €40 million deal
Adam Lawrence
/ Categories: News

Valderrama bought by Zagaleta in surprise €40 million deal

The famous Valderrama golf course in southern Spain has changed hands in a surprise deal, worth around €40 million.

Valderrama, the first course in Continental Europe to host the Ryder Cup, back in 1997, has been in limbo since the death of its founder and patriarch Jaime Ortiz-Patiño in 2013. The course’s holding company, Valderrama Group, has been acquired by the owners of La Zagaleta, a 36 hole golf and housing development in the Marbella area.

La Zagaleta’s development is located above the town of Marbella on the former estate of arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi. The development has two courses, the first by American architect Brad Benz, and the second, Los Barrancos, by Britons Steve Marnoch and Jonathan Gaunt. The Zagaleta Group was established in 1991. The development extends over 900 hectares of which almost 500 hectares are green spaces, and between 2014 and 2015 the company posted accumulated profit of €14 million. The company is currently building a number of new properties for 2016. The indicative price range for these will be between €12-14 million. La Zagaleta today boasts more 230 properties on plots ranging between 3,000-10,000 sq m, valued between €5 and €25 million each.

The transaction does not immediately effect the existing Real Club de Valderrama, the golf club that plays over the Valderrama course, as it has a lease on the property valid until 2050. It does, however, include the proposed ‘Valderrama II’ development at nearby Castellar, proposed several years ago. American architect Roger Rulewich, who led the development of the original Valderrama course on behalf of Robert Trent Jones Sr, and his partner Dave Fleury were originally slated to design the new course, but there is no indication whether the new owners intend to stick with them. A spokesman for Zagaleta said the new course would be ‘designed and laid out by one of the leading and most prestigious specialist landscape architects in this field’. Sources said the new project would represent an investment into the area of €200 million over the next ten years.

Jacobo Cestino, managing director of La Zagaleta Group in Spain said: “This transaction confirms our position at the forefront of the high end luxury property market as well as connecting us to one of the world’s most prestigious golf brands. The company has not discounted the possibility of acquiring other luxury and lifestyle brands over the medium term.”

Previous Article John Fought completes renovation project at Maryvale Golf Course
Next Article Beau Welling oversees reshaping of the twelfth green at Sandy Hills Links
Print
11868 Rate this article:
No rating
Adam Lawrence

Adam LawrenceAdam Lawrence

Other posts by Adam Lawrence
Contact author

Contact author

x
The April 2025 issue of Golf Course Architecture is out now!
Magazine, News | Wed 16 Apr, 2025

The April 2025 issue of Golf Course Architecture is out now!

Includes reports from Maggie Hathaway and Apogee, interviews with Martin Ebert and Dave Axland and a feature on golf art

Spring 2025 issue of ASGCA’s By Design magazine is out now
Magazine, News | Fri 14 Mar, 2025

Spring 2025 issue of ASGCA’s By Design magazine is out now

New issue asks whether the golf boom has led to an increase in municipal golf investment

FEATURE
ARTICLES

Bringing golf to Benin
Afrikafun Production Stephane Brabant
Report | Richard Humphreys

Bringing golf to Benin

Jeremy Pern and Gregori International are creating the first 18-hole course in the West African country, on an ‘almost perfect’ site that also includes a sacred grove and voodoo shrines

The future of vegetation management on Melbourne’s Sandbelt
Lukas Michel/CDP
Opinion | Mike Clayton

The future of vegetation management on Melbourne’s Sandbelt

Mike Clayton discusses Alister MacKenzie’s transformative impact on Australian golf and how clubs can avoid repeating previous mistakes by establishing a long-term plan focused on indigenous plants

Maggie Hathaway: A force for good
Stephen Barton – Second Collective
On site | Adam Lawrence

Maggie Hathaway: A force for good

The reconstruction of the nine-hole course in Los Angeles is the golf industry at its best, says Adam Lawrence

Designs for the big screen
Pizá Golf
Interview | Richard Humphreys

Designs for the big screen

Chad Goetz and Agustin Piza discuss their design decisions for the virtual holes that featured in the first season of TGL

The ties that bind
Crooked Stick
Opinion | Justin Olmstead

The ties that bind

Justin Olmstead of Profile Products talks about the relationships behind the renovation of Crooked Stick in Indiana

Bob Harrison: Wizard of Oz
Konrad Borkowski
Interview | Adam Lawrence

Bob Harrison: Wizard of Oz

The Australian designer has had a long career and, like many of his countrymen, has spent much of it away from home. Adam Lawrence listened to his tales from the road

Jim Wagner and Rusty Mercer discuss Kinsale design and build
Kinsale Golf Club
Interview | Richard Humphreys

Jim Wagner and Rusty Mercer discuss Kinsale design and build

Florida course is a tribute to the Golden Age designs of Raynor and Macdonald

Are bunkers getting too pretty for their own good?
Larry Lambrecht
Feature | Adam Lawrence

Are bunkers getting too pretty for their own good?

Is the beauty of bunkering being over-emphasised at the expense of its function, asks Adam Lawrence

Good Read: The Prairie Raynor
Grant Books Ltd
Good Read | John Moran and Rand Jerris

Good Read: The Prairie Raynor

John Moran and Rand Jerris share insight into their book about Seth Raynor’s design at Chicago Golf Club

Vinpearl Golf Léman: New pearls for Vietnam
Vinpearl Golf Leman
Report | Richard Humphreys

Vinpearl Golf Léman: New pearls for Vietnam

The first of two Golfplan-designed courses at club near Ho Chi Minh City has opened for play

Seven Canyons: Desert drama
Brad Klein
Report | Bradley Klein

Seven Canyons: Desert drama

Brad Klein reports on a Phil Smith Design renovation in Sedona, Arizona

Gopher Watch Competition – April 2025
Gopher Watch, News | Wed 16 Apr, 2025

Gopher Watch Competition – April 2025

Which course has Sandy the gopher visited this month?

MOST
POPULAR

FEATURED
BUSINESSES