NASSAU, Bahamas — Three “credible offers” to acquire the Grand Lucayan resort are presently being studied, the deputy prime minister said yesterday, as he and others touted $1billion worth of investments being “in the pipeline” for Grand Bahama, The Tribune reported on Friday, March 17, 2023 in an article written by Business Editor Neil Hartnell.
Chester Cooper, also minister of tourism, investments and aviation, told the Grand Bahama Business Outlook conference that the Government was most concerned that any chosen buyer possesses the financing to develop the island’s so-called ‘anchor property to a “world class standard”.
Having heavily touted the previous Electra America Hospitality Group deal, only to subsequently see it collapse and have to begin the buyer search anew, he indicated the experience had been a lesson learned, adding: “I ain’t saying nothing else until money is in the bank.”
While not naming any of the three potential purchasers, Mr Cooper told attendees: “It is critically important to this government and Grand Bahama that we find a buyer for the Grand Lucayan resort. Far too much money has been spent, and far too many opportunities await us not to have this on our agenda.
“I’m advised by the chairman of Lucayan Renewal Holdings [Julian Russell] that there continues to be considerable dialogue and interest in this resort. We recently received three credible offers for this resort…. and they are already undergoing due diligence. We are committed to achieving the best possible result for the Bahamian people.”
Mr Cooper added that it was vital that the Grand Lucayan’s buyer possess the financing to not just close the sale but also redevelop the property into a destination capable of attracting sufficient airlift and visitors to Grand Bahama – a project that Electra itself estimated might require at least a $300m-$400m investment.
“The key is to ascertain development financing or financing for actual development,” the deputy prime minister explained. “If we just wanted to sell the hotel, it would be done. The closing finance is important, but the buyer’s capacity to resort the resort to world-class standards is paramount.”
Mr Cooper praised the Grand Lucayan’s management for keeping its sole open property, Lighthouse Point, “in relatively good order and good form notwithstanding the challenges”. He added that more than 100 Bahamians were employed at the resort, which was running an occupancy rate of around 90 percent – albeit that its other two resorts, the former Memories and Breaker’s Cay, are closed.
Noting the property’s significance for Grand Bahama, the deputy prime minister added: “While I remain cautiously optimistic, I will only make any further public pronouncements when full due diligence is complete, funding has been identified and placed in an escrow account and we have definitively identified a closing date. I ain’t saying nothing else until money is in the bank.”
Tribune Business previously revealed that the failed $100m sale to Electra America Hospitality Group is set to cost Bahamian taxpayers a further $9.1m with subsidies to the resort for the full fiscal year near-doubling in the 2022-2023 mid-year Budget.
The Davis administration is increasing funding for the hotel from the originally-forecast $10.3m to $19.4m, an 88.3 percent rise, which has almost certainly resulted from the Government having to hold the property for longer than anticipated after that deal collapsed in November 2022.
See complete article in The Tribune at http://www.tribune242.com/news/2023/mar/17/dpm-three-credible-offers-lucayan/
