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Tavistock Group will continue with Harmony Cove project
Al Edwards
Friday, March 28, 2008
Despite Tavistock Group's lead principal Joe Lewis losing close to US$1 billion on the sale of US investment house Bear Stearns to JP Morgan Chase, the Harmony Cove tourism project in Jamaica will still go ahead as planned.
Speaking with Caribbean Business Report at the Tavistock Golf Cup Gala in Orlando's Isleworth, earlier this week, Tavistock Group's Managing Director Douglas McMahon said: "Despite the fact that Bear Stearns has been sold and we all know the circumstances there, the Harmony Cove project is on track and we as the developer, our private sector partners and the Jamaican government are all committed to see the project break ground sometime next year.
"There has been a change of government in Jamaica and the 'getting to know you phase' has gone well."
The private investment firm (51 per cent) has partnered with the Jamaican government (49 per cent) to develop a tourism resort on 2,300 acres of land on Trelawny's Harmony Cove.
In 2006, the then Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller signed a joint venture agreement between Harmonisation Limited (a government entity created to partner with the Tavistock Group on the project, comprising the Development Bank of Jamaica and the National Housing Trust) and the Tavistock Group for the development of the resort, which is one of the largest and most ambitious projects undertaken by a Jamaican government.
The project, to be completed in two phases, is estimated to come in at around US$5 billion with a number of hotels on the property housing over 2,000 rooms. The property will also contain championship golf courses, an equestrian centre, a water park, a conference centre, marinas, retail shops selling the world's top brands, restaurants, nightclubs and local attractions showcasing the best of Jamaica. The timeline is as follows: 2008-09 - Complete design work and finalise partners; 2009-10 - Begin construction of all Phase 1 components; 2012 - Harmony Cove Grand Opening.
The Tavistock Group is a private investment company founded by Joe Lewis. The company has grown to encompass a broad portfolio around the world including life sciences, sport teams (Tottenham Hotspur Football Club) and sporting events (The Tavistock Cup), manufacturing (Bristol Motor Cars) and distribution (Puma, Gottex, Vans), oil and gas, financial services, restaurants (California Café, Napa Valley Grille), private luxury residential properties and master-planned real estate development.
Tavistock Group's portfolio of interests includes more than 170 companies in 15 countries. The company has offices in Argentina, The Bahamas, China, Europe, Mexico, the UK and the US.
Lewis, who dropped out of school at 15 to work in his father's pub in London's East End, is one of Britain's richest men. He made most of his estimated fortune of over US$5 billion from foreign exchange trading, taking bets that shook some of the world's biggest currencies.
The British billionaire currency trader, now in his 70s, last year held a 10 per cent stake in Bear Stearns, the US investment house weakened by the sub-prime mortgage crisis.
The Tavistock Group boss paid more than US$100 a share for most of his 11 million shares, according to US regulatory filings.
"Robert Stern will be the chief architect on the Harmony Cove project, and its design will celebrate Jamaica. It will deliberately depart from European and American concepts. The design and development phase has been earmarked for 2009.
"We will employ a transformative concept, making it the most ambitious project of its kind in the Caribbean," said McMahon.
Commenting on the Jamaican government's involvement in the project, Tavistock's managing director declared that it had been innovative and entrepreneurial and that it had the foresight to aggregate the land. "The government wants to have a clearly defined high-end component to its tourism product and is determined to make it happen. For this initiative it must be commended."
He went on to add that among the reasons that Tavistock opted for Jamaica was its collaborative business culture, the potency of brand Jamaica and its location, particularly as it relates to cruise ship routes.
Many tourism observers have posed the question: Will Harmony Cove have a high-end casino? Minister of Tourism Ed Bartlett has indicated that gaming and casinos could play a vitalising role in Jamaica's tourism product, but the local clergy vehemently maintains that gaming is morally reprehensible and should not be entertained in Jamaica.
"Casinos and gaming have become popular with some resorts, one only has to look at Atlantis. We could develop an airport for high rollers to fly into Jamaica for casino gaming at Harmony Cove. However, we will not go that route if the government is adamant in its refusal to countenance casinos and gaming lounges," said McMahon.
According to McMahon, the Tavistock Group is a dedicated equity company that doesn't rely on debt or leverage. It employs an investment strategy that seeks strong concepts that can be executed and where above-average returns can be made.
"We back strong ideas with strong people. There isn't a dollar of debt in our investment portfolio and we do not pledge one asset against another. That is why the fall in Bear Stearns' share price does not really matter. To us it was an anomaly," said McMahon.
The Tavistock Group recently acquired a Polish vodka company, and the US$1.3- billion Albany resort in the Bahamas remains on track to be opened in December of next year. The 565-acre resort project contains a luxury hotel, a marina and a championship 18-hole golf course.
"The project comes in two phases. Our goal at Harmony Cove is to create a luxury destination that will be internationally recognised for showcasing the best of Jamaica. As well as housing attractions it will be an attraction for both local and international visitors. It will be a state-of-the-art resort development, the best the Caribbean has ever seen," declared Tavistock Group's managing director.
Al Edwards
Friday, March 28, 2008
Despite Tavistock Group's lead principal Joe Lewis losing close to US$1 billion on the sale of US investment house Bear Stearns to JP Morgan Chase, the Harmony Cove tourism project in Jamaica will still go ahead as planned.
Speaking with Caribbean Business Report at the Tavistock Golf Cup Gala in Orlando's Isleworth, earlier this week, Tavistock Group's Managing Director Douglas McMahon said: "Despite the fact that Bear Stearns has been sold and we all know the circumstances there, the Harmony Cove project is on track and we as the developer, our private sector partners and the Jamaican government are all committed to see the project break ground sometime next year.
"There has been a change of government in Jamaica and the 'getting to know you phase' has gone well."
The private investment firm (51 per cent) has partnered with the Jamaican government (49 per cent) to develop a tourism resort on 2,300 acres of land on Trelawny's Harmony Cove.
In 2006, the then Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller signed a joint venture agreement between Harmonisation Limited (a government entity created to partner with the Tavistock Group on the project, comprising the Development Bank of Jamaica and the National Housing Trust) and the Tavistock Group for the development of the resort, which is one of the largest and most ambitious projects undertaken by a Jamaican government.
The project, to be completed in two phases, is estimated to come in at around US$5 billion with a number of hotels on the property housing over 2,000 rooms. The property will also contain championship golf courses, an equestrian centre, a water park, a conference centre, marinas, retail shops selling the world's top brands, restaurants, nightclubs and local attractions showcasing the best of Jamaica. The timeline is as follows: 2008-09 - Complete design work and finalise partners; 2009-10 - Begin construction of all Phase 1 components; 2012 - Harmony Cove Grand Opening.
The Tavistock Group is a private investment company founded by Joe Lewis. The company has grown to encompass a broad portfolio around the world including life sciences, sport teams (Tottenham Hotspur Football Club) and sporting events (The Tavistock Cup), manufacturing (Bristol Motor Cars) and distribution (Puma, Gottex, Vans), oil and gas, financial services, restaurants (California Café, Napa Valley Grille), private luxury residential properties and master-planned real estate development.
Tavistock Group's portfolio of interests includes more than 170 companies in 15 countries. The company has offices in Argentina, The Bahamas, China, Europe, Mexico, the UK and the US.
Lewis, who dropped out of school at 15 to work in his father's pub in London's East End, is one of Britain's richest men. He made most of his estimated fortune of over US$5 billion from foreign exchange trading, taking bets that shook some of the world's biggest currencies.
The British billionaire currency trader, now in his 70s, last year held a 10 per cent stake in Bear Stearns, the US investment house weakened by the sub-prime mortgage crisis.
The Tavistock Group boss paid more than US$100 a share for most of his 11 million shares, according to US regulatory filings.
"Robert Stern will be the chief architect on the Harmony Cove project, and its design will celebrate Jamaica. It will deliberately depart from European and American concepts. The design and development phase has been earmarked for 2009.
"We will employ a transformative concept, making it the most ambitious project of its kind in the Caribbean," said McMahon.
Commenting on the Jamaican government's involvement in the project, Tavistock's managing director declared that it had been innovative and entrepreneurial and that it had the foresight to aggregate the land. "The government wants to have a clearly defined high-end component to its tourism product and is determined to make it happen. For this initiative it must be commended."
He went on to add that among the reasons that Tavistock opted for Jamaica was its collaborative business culture, the potency of brand Jamaica and its location, particularly as it relates to cruise ship routes.
Many tourism observers have posed the question: Will Harmony Cove have a high-end casino? Minister of Tourism Ed Bartlett has indicated that gaming and casinos could play a vitalising role in Jamaica's tourism product, but the local clergy vehemently maintains that gaming is morally reprehensible and should not be entertained in Jamaica.
"Casinos and gaming have become popular with some resorts, one only has to look at Atlantis. We could develop an airport for high rollers to fly into Jamaica for casino gaming at Harmony Cove. However, we will not go that route if the government is adamant in its refusal to countenance casinos and gaming lounges," said McMahon.
According to McMahon, the Tavistock Group is a dedicated equity company that doesn't rely on debt or leverage. It employs an investment strategy that seeks strong concepts that can be executed and where above-average returns can be made.
"We back strong ideas with strong people. There isn't a dollar of debt in our investment portfolio and we do not pledge one asset against another. That is why the fall in Bear Stearns' share price does not really matter. To us it was an anomaly," said McMahon.
The Tavistock Group recently acquired a Polish vodka company, and the US$1.3- billion Albany resort in the Bahamas remains on track to be opened in December of next year. The 565-acre resort project contains a luxury hotel, a marina and a championship 18-hole golf course.
"The project comes in two phases. Our goal at Harmony Cove is to create a luxury destination that will be internationally recognised for showcasing the best of Jamaica. As well as housing attractions it will be an attraction for both local and international visitors. It will be a state-of-the-art resort development, the best the Caribbean has ever seen," declared Tavistock Group's managing director.
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