NASSAU| Bahamas Press is monitoring the developments unfolding today in Grand Bahama relating to the sale of the Grand Lucayan Hotel.
Today, Lucayan Holdings Chairman Julian Russell announced difficulty in reaching a deal with Electra America Hospitality Ltd. (EAHL) which found challenges in reaching a solid conclusion to concluding a sale of the property.
The statement said, “EAHL has advised that shifting global capital markets and related inflationary pressures resulted in higher construction costs and costlier access to credit. Accordingly, the company had difficulty securing development financing at terms that would allow it to fully execute the vision outlined in its business plan.
“Given this, the closing deadline of November 15, 2022 is not possible and negotiations with EAHL have come to an end.”
We know leaders around the world are in a challenging moment in history. And, yes, these are serious and difficult times; there’s a difficult war continuing in Ukraine, inflation gripping market pricing, and threats of a global recession are in the air.
We know, however, that this Davis Administration is fighting strong to get things done, and the man appointed by the government, Chester Cooper, is a serious, strong, and effective businessman. He definitely has a long track record of making deals happen as we see all around us with the landing of planes and cruise ships and the resurgence in the busy streets with our tourism products. We can all agree the Bahamas are in good safe hands to get the deal of Grand Lucayan done.
Successive governments knew of the difficulties in the tourism space and they knew that this was the very reason why it was decided by the Minnis Government that purchasing the Grand Lucayan property was a bad idea.
The statement concluded, “In the meantime, we will complete functional renovations to the Lighthouse Pointe buildings. We are also working with airline partners and the Ministry of Tourism to derive tangible benefits from the significantly increased airlift to Grand Bahama Island. We welcome opportunities with Bahamasair from Raleigh, NC and Florida; American
Airlines from Florida and Charlotte, as well as Sunwing from Montreal and Toronto. With this boost, Lighthouse Point is forecasting steady occupancy levels and continues to employ approximately 140 Bahamians.”
Better days are coming for Grand Bahama.
We report yinner decide!
