Chief Minister and Minister of Finance, Tourism, and Economic Development, Mr. Victor Banks, repeated at Tuesday’s Government press conference, a statement he made on January 19 that the perspective buyer of Cap Juluca had changed his mind.
“We received some correspondence from one of the principals involved in the transaction that the buyer had decided to walk away and that he would not go through with the sale,” Mr. Banks told the media representatives. “I want to point out that this has absolutely nothing to do with anything that the Government of Anguilla did not do. We did everything that was necessary to facilitate the sale. Of course there are a lot of moving parts, and over the last eight months we have certainly been trying to bring everything together.
“The key thing would have been first of all the need to unify the property. We had this buyer who had already negotiated with the Brilla Group and Mark Rowan to purchase their end of the property once the deal with the Hickoxes was consummated. That would have occurred on Friday, January 20, had the deal gone through. But, through the course of the negotiations, we were back and forth on a number of issues. As I mentioned in my press release [on January 19], we learned some useful lessons about these kinds of international transactions…”
In that regard, Mr. Banks cited a number of issues which may have impacted the change of mind of the proposed buyer. He noted, among other things, that purchasers of property were cautious of deals which may later lead to certain ownership or interest claims other persons may have in the property. He also said that moneylenders were also cautious of such deals.
He stated that “there were a range of things going back and forth.” He went on: “The Government put a lot of energy in this and would have used up a lot of its ‘political currency’ to making this deal work – based on the things that needed to be done.
“Even though the sale has not gone through, I believe that another transaction of this nature will be much easier to negotiate – given the fact that we have had that experience; and we have a basis on which we could deal with.
“We also have a lot of other interest in the property …so we know that there is interest out there. Once we do the due diligence and that fits with the basic objectives of the Government of Anguilla to have an investor who has the wherewithal to rehabilitate the project, do some expansion, as well as reunify it, we would be prepared to begin negotiations with such a group. As far as we are concerned, that is where we are with the Cap Juluca project.”
In his earlier statement on January 19, mentioned above, the Chief said the following: “The suspension of the negotiations leading to the sale means that the concessions Government made, to facilitate the process and make the transaction viable, have been likewise suspended. Therefore, the remission of Government fees, lease payments and taxes approved in the Anguilla House of Assembly have now expired. I want to make clear no taxes have therefore been remitted.”
The Chief Minister also made three other points in that statement as follows:
• “The owners of Cap Juluca informed us that they will continue to operate until a further arrangement can be pursued. They have also indicated that they have a plan “B” which we have not yet discussed. Any future plan for Cap Juluca must be carefully evaluated given the present realities.
• “I would like to assure the loyal employees of Cap Juluca, who must be also disappointed that, in the immediate term, it will be business as usual at the resort. There should be no reason for any radical changes to operations at this time. At any rate Government will be conducting more substantive discussions with the owners…
• “The sale of Cap Juluca was an important component of the assumptions in the 2017 Budget. However, we believe that other developments over the next few months can help us to manage any shortfalls that may be experienced.
