The Urban Development Corporation (UDC) has concluded the sale of its 50% stake in Bloody Bay Hotel Development Limited (BBHDL) to Village Resorts Limited (VRL), which owned the other 50% of the company. VRL, in response to the UDC’s offer, had expressed its desire to exercise its pre-emptive right to acquire the UDC’s shares in BBHDL in June 2011. Cabinet approved the sale of the shares to VRL in January 2013 and the sale transaction was finalized in March with the signing of an agreement on 27 March 2013.
The gross transaction proceeds realized by the UDC was US$11.2M, which included US$9.5M for the real estate and related fixed assets, and US$1.7M representing UDC’s share of cash and other liquid assets of BBHDL at the date of the sale agreement.
BBHDL’s principal asset was Breezes Grand Resort & Spa, Negril, (formerly Grand Lido Negril) a 210 suite all-inclusive property located in Negril, Hanover.
VRL secured an agreement to sell the hotel’s real property and other assets owned by BBHDL to BBNH Resorts Limited, which will further develop and expand the hotel utilizing lands acquired through the sale transaction. BBNH is an affiliate of Blue Diamond Hotels & Resorts Inc. The expansion will be in accordance with the UDC’s overall plans for the development of the area.
Blue Diamond’s portfolio of hotels also includes, in addition to Breezes Negril, the former 350-room Breezes Trelawny/Starfish Beach Hotel purchased in June 2012, which will re-open as Royalton White Sands in October 2013. With the acquisition of Breezes Negril now complete, Blue Diamond has rebranded the property as the Grand Lido Negril Resort & Spa. The same name was used by former owner SuperClubs when the company opened the resort in 1989 before rebranding it as a Breezes property in 2009.
“The Grand Lido brand has long been synonymous with top-quality accommodations, service, cuisine and beach settings. This is the first resort to be relaunched under our Grand Lido brand,” said Jordi Pelfort, managing director of Blue Diamond.
Blue Diamond is a division of the Toronto-based Sunwing Travel Group.
