The largest property development and tourism project along Barbados west coast should be back on track early in 2010.
The widely debated property, Four Seasons Resort and Residences which broke ground in 2007, came to a screeching halt last June but now plans are afoot for its restart.
But now the plan to get the multi-million dollar property underway will largely involve the Government of Barbados, well-known government advisor and investment banker Avinash Persaud and partial financing from one of the island’s finance houses.
According to local media reports the new deal will involve a refinancing plan, which was reached with lenders, creditors, private residence owners, shareholders and developers. The agreement, which was confirmed by Prime Minister David Thompson, who is also the Minister of Finance, involves Government supporting the refinancing efforts to complete the project.
Interestingly, the new arrangement in part will allow Government to gain an equity share in the project, while guaranteeing the repayment of the loan, with strict conditions being in place.
The plan includes a US$60 million facility from Ansa McAL Merchant Bank and its Barbadian affiliate, Consolidated Finance, that allows for a repayment of the Bank of Scotland loan, the acquisition of the Esso land to complete the site, a settlement with creditors, and the recommencement of construction.
The Black Rock site of the Resort has seen little to no activity over the last few months after word spread that it was in financial difficulty in mid 2009.
The creation of a new management board is among the top priorities of the deal. That new board will be under the guidance of the Executive Chairmanship of Prof. Persaud, with the support of the new Lenders, Private Residence owners, existing shareholders and the Government had been working on the project for a few months, prior to the announcement. Professor Persaud has over 20 years of experience in investment banking before becoming an advisor to governments and institutions around the world. He was recently ranked No. 2 in the world of public intellectuals on the financial crisis by Prospect Magazine.
It is believed that the resumption of the project will underpin Barbados’ brand as one of the luxury destinations in the world, boost investor confidence, provide substantial local employment, facilitate skill transfers and generate foreign exchange revenues.”
The point was made that the arrangement would ensure that the project was properly managed and the benefits of the deal will bring advantages to the tourism product of the country. He also stated that the deal represented the best possible scenario for Barbados and the project. “The Government of Barbados must use its resources intelligently and sparingly.
Under Professor Persaud’s plan, the Government of Barbados will guarantee repayment of the loan as long as the project is run under strict conditions and will in return be awarded an equity stake in the project, a ‘golden share’ to guarantee our interests versus other shareholders and a charge on the assets of the most significant development to occur in Barbados for some time. When these dark days of global economic challenge are behind us, we will come to see this moment as one of our finest hours.”
The original completion date for the project was 2011. The project is set to feature some 275 rooms comprising hotels and private residences.
