The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Nassau Palm Hotel is “under contract” to be sold in a multi-million dollar deal set to close at end-May, Tribune Business can reveal, with its owners hoping it is ‘third time lucky’.

The West Bay Street property, located opposite downtown Nassau’s popular Junkanoo Beach, has been on the market since late 2010, but two previous sales fell through.

One of those deals involved an offer by a Bahamian group, but Tribune Business understands that a foreign buyer has now emerged as the frontrunner to close the deal, having signed a sales contract and paid a deposit.

Valentine Grimes, the Bahamian attorney for the vendor, Genwood Ltd, confirmed that the Nassau Palm’s sale was likely imminent when contacted by this newspaper.

He told Tribune Business: “The purchasers are known to the Bahamian Government. They come very highly recommended. It’s a non-Bahamian group, and they come with a good reputation.

“In recent months there have been four or five groups, and in fact we had it under contract previously with a Bahamian group. That, for various reasons, did not complete.

“After that contract fell through, we again put it on the market and entered into another contract with a non-Bahamian group.”

Tribune Business understands that the Nassau Palm’s owner has actively been seeking to sell the resort since late 2010. Prior to the Bahamian group’s emergence, a deal with another overseas buyer also fell through, making this sales agreement the third it has entered into.

Mr Grimes declined to identify the buyer, but Tribune Business understands their plans include reflagging the Nassau Palm under a major international resort brand.

The attorney also refused to divulge any details concerning the Nassau Palm’s sale, although Tribune Business sources suggested the purchase price was less than the $6.8 million paid by Warwick International Hotels & Resorts to acquire the 250-room Paradise Island Harbour Resort in December 2012.

Mr Grimes acted for the vendor in that deal, too, and Tribune Business understands that the shareholders in Genwood Ltd, the Nassau Palm’s holding company, are Driftwood Hospitality and the Miami-based Gencom Group.

Driftwood’s involvement in Bahamian resort industry ownership/management is unlikely to be remembered fondly, especially in Freeport, where the Royal Oasis properties remain closed some 10 years after it exited in the aftermath of Hurricane Frances.

Gencom, which is headed by Karim Alibhai, was the developer behind the stalled Rose Island Ritz-Carlton project, which came to a halt due to the global recession. That development, and the Royal Oasis, were both financed by Lehman Brothers’ private equity arm.

Mr Grimes, meanwhile, promised that the “less than 100 staff” at the Nassau Palm would be fully compensated - as happened with the Paradise Island Harbour Resort - once the sale was completed.

“The union have been advised accordingly, and all staff members will be adequately dealt with, so there is no issue with them being paid out,” he told Tribune Business.

“We will fully pay what is owed to them when the contract is completed. All of them will be appropriately paid all the monies owed to them - salary, vacation pay, termination.”

It was suggested to Tribune Business yesterday that a foreign purchaser of the Nassau Palm could cause some issues for the Government when it came to approving the deal, given the involvement of Bahamian groups and the fact the purchase price is within their range.

Mr Grimes, though, described such assertions as “grossly unfair” to Genwood and its owners, given that the property had been on the market for several years and several previous deals had fallen through.

An all-inclusive resort, the Nassau Palm is among New Providence’s few mid-priced, mid-market resort options.

Its location across from Junkanoo Beach, and proximity to downtown Nassau, have made it popular with Spring Breakers and vacationers seeking ‘value’.