Butch Stewart tight-lipped on Turks & Caicos hotel purchase

Gordon 'Butch' Ste-wart, chairman of Sandals Resorts International, says he has had constructive discussions with the owner of Veranda hotel, a five-star fully inclusive 123-room resort located adjacent his Beaches Resort and Spa in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

But the hotelier refused to be drawn on whether he was actively pursuing the purchase of the property.

Acquisition of the hotel, owned by British multimillionaire entrepreneur André Serruys, would make Stewart the single largest owner of beachfront property in Providenciales and increase his stake of hotel room in the islands, according to a newspaper report published in Turks and Caicos Tuesday.

The report said Serruys has himself admitted to

having discussions with Stewart in which they "have explored the possibility of a sale of Veranda to Beaches," but said he had not sold the property, although discussions would continue with a view to so doing.

In a response on Tuesday, communicated through Rachel McLarty, Sandals International director of corporate communications, Stewart said: "Veranda are great neighbours, to and Andre and I are friends. We have had constructive discussions. However, there is nothing further that I can say on this."

The report carried in the Sun newspaper, quoted sources as saying that Stewart and Serruys held several meetings about the sale of Veranda, a US$80-million investment which sits on 11 acres of land and has 800 feet of beachfront, and for which the owner is said to be asking upward of US$100 million.

Serruys also said Stewart and he are friends and it is assumed that when they meet it is generally for business reasons and, specifically in relation to happenings in Providenciales, it is supposed that Beaches has bought Veranda.

But the British businessman said, "if the question is, 'have we explored the possibility of a sale of Veranda to Beaches?' then the answer is obviously yes."

He went on to say, "It is, after all, quite logical to muse over the prospect of a marriage of two excellent adjoining resorts on the best beach in the world, creating what certainly would be one of the finest flagship resorts in the entire Caribbean. No doubt we will continue to explore the possibilities, but the outcome remains to be seen - for now, it is business as usual."

Stewart did not answer Financial Gleaner queries whether one of the obstacles to closing the sale of Veranda is the terms and conditions of a management contract which the resort has with Grace Bay Resorts, reportedly for five years, dated from February 1, 2010 when the hotel was opened.

The 123-room residence-style resort features oversized home-like accommodation in addition to eight private oceanfront cottages, two beachfront dining experiences, and three separate private pools with one reserved for adults only.

The Veranda was developed and owned by Faez Limited, a Turks and Caicos company controlled by Serruys.

mcpherse.thompson@gleanerjm.com