NASSAU, Bahamas — The sale of the Grand Lucayan Resort in Freeport is now up in the air, Chairman of Lucayan Renewal Holdings Michael Scott said yesterday, The Nassau Guardian reported on Friday, September 10.
The government signed a heads of agreement with Royal Caribbean International (RCI) and ITM Group for the sale and redevelopment of the property and nearby cruise port, and had originally pegged early 2021 for the redevelopment to begin, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed and changed the terms of the agreement.
When asked if the sale is up in the air with a general election a week away, Scott said, “Absolutely. But whoever wins, I want to get this monkey off my back.”
The government has owned the Grand Lucayan since August 2018, when it purchased the ill-fated hotel from Cheung Kong Property Holdings Limited for $65 million.
Since then, the government has sought to offload the property, which has cost it approximately $1 million a month to maintain and operate.
“If we lost, then, obviously, I wouldn’t be chairman anymore, right?,” he told Guardian Business.
“And I wouldn’t be on the board anymore. There’d have to be a new board appointed by the incoming government and there would have to be a transition. Knowing me and my reserve of knowledge and experience on this matter, they’d want to be briefed on it. That’s in the unlikely event (we lose). I want to stress that,” he told Guardian Business.
The property reopened earlier this year after more than a year closed, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated travel restrictions and border closures.
But despite being open, Scott said the 740-room resort has been plagued with challenges. See complete story in the Nassau Guardian at https://thenassauguardian.com/grand-lucayan-sale-up-in-the-air-as-general-election-looms/
