The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A top Toronto-based real estate developer was yesterday confirmed as the “major player” in talks to acquire Exuma’s February Point development, its current owners hoping a deal will start to crystallise “within 30 days”.

And Tribune Business can also reveal that John McGarvey, owner of the former Coconut Cove Hotel on the island, is in talks with the Hart family to acquire land adjacent to February Point.

When contacted by Tribune Business, Randy Hart, managing director of February Point Resort Estates, confirmed this newspaper’s exclusive revelation last month that The Talisker Corporation was the frontrunner to purchase the property.

While declining to go into detail due to confidentiality agreements associated with the negotiations, Mr Hart told Tribune Business: “We’re right in the middle of delicate negotiations.

“All I can do is confirm that your story with respect to Talisker was correct, and they are the major player.”

On its website, Talisker, which was founded more than 10 years ago, bills itself as a “luxury real estate, recreation and hospitality company, dedicated to offering exceptional alpine and golf lifestyles”.

It has developed three communities across 14,000 acres in the Park City area near Toronto, and provides real estate development, construction, leasing and management services.

And Talisker is said to have properties located in the US, the UK, and eastern Europe.

Mr Hart, meanwhile, confirmed information reaching Tribune Business that he and his family were also in talks with Mr McGarvey over a different piece of property.

“He’s been looking at taking another piece of adjacent property - some acreage adjacent to February Point,” he told this newspaper.

“We’re in dialogue with Mr McGarvey. This is involving the acreage across the street, and we’re working on both deals right now.”

Mr Hart added that “within 30 days we should be hard”, indicating either that deposits on the potential transactions might be paid, or that the deals have closed.

Closing this purchase is part of a hectic schedule Mr McGarvey appears to have set for himself, As well as Coconut Cove, he is understood to be negotiating another resort development with the Government on nearby Stocking Island.

Taking over a Bahamian real estate development would be something of a departure from Talisker’s focus on colder climates, but several contacts previously suggested the company may view February Point as a stepping stone to potentially bigger designs/plans for the Exuma.

They suggested Talisker may also be interested in acquiring, and taking over, the resort development at Crab Cay that lies directly across the water from February Point.

Crab Cay, which was approved in 2003, was an investment initiated by the Murphy family, hog farmers from North Carolina.

A bridge, utilities and much of the necessary infrastructure has been put in - making it an attractive foundation for someone like Talisker - but Crab Cay is yet another Family Island development that has come to a standstill, and effectively been abandoned.