"It could be another three years before 1 000 investors are able to recoup the $128 million they pumped into the failed project at Merricks, St Philip.
The same goes for Barbadian creditors of the Harlequin property, including Government, which is owed about $700 000 in land tax.
Brian Glasgow, Bankruptcy Trustee for Harlequin Property (SVG) Limited - in Bankruptcy, has appointed Terra Caribbean in Barbados to find a buyer for the 70-acre property which was to be an upscale Harlequin resort. Work on the project stopped about four years ago.
Terra Caribbean has not put a price tag on the beach-front land but it is estimated that investors pumped £48 million into the project. At current exchange rates that is the equivalent of $128.5 million.
While those involved are hopeful that a sale can be concluded within six months, they have been told that in reality such transactions usually take between two and three years.
In his second report issued ahead of creditor meetings in St. Vincent and the United Kingdom (UK), last month, Glasgow told them: “It is [my] view that in order to achieve the best sale price, resources should be made available to conduct a sale over a reasonable exposure period and we expect that a sale will take more than six months and perhaps as long as 24-36 months.”
At their recent meeting in the UK, creditors were told that Terra Caribbean’s effort to sell Merricks would involve “a six-month open-ended marketing campaign in respect of the plot”.
“The campaign will be evaluated at the end of the marketing period and a decision taken on whether to continue with the open-ended approach, or to move to a structured process designed to drive towards a closing date. Current advice is that it has taken 24-36 months to achieve a sale of similar resorts,” said a memorandum from the Harlequin creditors briefing held in London on November 13.
In its information to prospective buyers, Terra Caribbean said the property “features 3 000 feet of cliff frontage as well as a cove beach to the southern boundary”.
“There is no guide price and all interested parties are invited to submit an offer. Additional details and site visits are available on request. This is a unique opportunity to acquire a large development site on the south-east coast of the island,” it added.
Glasgow did not give an update on the other Harlequin property in Barbados, the H Hotel in Hastings, Christ Church. Millions of dollars in debt is also tied up in that venture.
Glasgow said he would hold a further meeting of creditors in March or April next year."
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