Vexed Bermoothes

As I commented earlier, the Government is putting the cart before the horse on the Club Med redevelopment by asking to Bermuda to debate what were are giving away without knowing what we will get for it.

It is irresponsible to conduct the debate without clarity on the economic benefits to Bermuda derived from the lease and the various taxes associated with the operation of the real estate development.  The lack of substantive information implies that no financial analysis has been performed.  And sorry, the basic terms of the 262 year lease for 125 acres of Bermuda land should be public knowledge and part of the debate over this Act.

Asked by an audience member what level of assurance he had got from the developer that funds are in place, Dr. Brown replied: “I do not have in my possession a document that assures that this developer has a certain amount of funding in his hands at the moment.

“I can tell you that this developer has assured us, and we have done due diligence, that he has adequate sources of funding for this project.

“In today’s economic environment, nothing is definite. Nothing is without possibility. But to date not one of the prospective developers for Bermuda, not one, has come forward and said: ‘We are not going to be able to do this job.’

Actually, I have no confidence that proper due diligence has been conducted. How can it if the investors are unknown?  Sounds like really rigorous KYC.

And of course no prospective developer is balking. While Government is secretive on its lease terms, the developers are being given control over large tracts of land free from most development regulations via SDO, free from import duties, free from lease payments until opening, and either free or discounted from taxes for years after opening.

While Bermuda is rushing through the enabling Act, it’s likely the developer can sit and wait until more favourable times. Or he can simply sell “the deal” to someone else.

Prove me wrong:  show the lease.