Company of businessman behind polo facility expansion files for bankruptcy protection – Fauquier Times

A foreclosure auction on a 616-acre Middleburg parcel to be held in front of the Leesburg courthouse was canceled Friday morning. The property owned by Travellers Rest, LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Thursday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Travellers Rest, LLC managing members are T. Nelson Gunnell and Alfred Rogers Smithwick, both of Middleburg. Gunnell also is the founder and co-owner of the Banbury Cross polo facility that is not part of the 616 acres.

In recent months, Gunnell has been seeking investors for a proposed expansion of the polo facility along Route 50 that would include a resort and clubhouse and a number of homes. Those plans included using some of the acreage in the 616-acre parcel, which is now on hold, and the polo expansion now is in serious jeopardy.

According to the bankruptcy filing, the liabilities were listed between $1 and $10 million. The minimum bidding price on the 616 acres in the foreclosure auction would have been $5 million. The bankruptcy documents also identified nine creditors with a list of more than $401,000 in unsecured claims, including unpaid legal fees, unpaid real estate taxes and a deposit on a piece of land.

The note-holder on the property is Marshall Capital, LC in Marshall, Virginia. In previous court filings, Travellers Rest LLCs original promissory note on the property was $4 million, not including interest.

Neither Gunnell, nor his attorney, Alexandria-based Jeffrey Martin, returned phone calls after the auction was called off. D. Brook Middleton, who is listed as the manager for Marshall Capital LC, also did not return a call to his office, though his receptionist said he would have no comment. Leesburg attorney David Culbert, listed as the trustee for the property before the auction was cancelled, also declined comment.

Chapter 11 filings are generally made to give a business or corporation time to reorganize their finances or raise more capital in order to pay off their creditors. All judgments against that business are suspended, as are collection attempts, foreclosures and repossessions of the property.

Travellers Rest LLC now has 120 days to file a reorganization plan. Another 180 days is then granted after the chapter 11 bankruptcy petition is filed for creditors to accept the companys reorganization plan. Several attorneys familiar with the procedure said it could take months, even several years to sort out.

Leonard Shapiro can be reached at badgerlen@aol.com