Tortuga Beach Resort & Spa, one of Cape Verde's leading residential developments, Sal Island
News
As reported last year, our resort management agreement with Sol Meliá means that exciting changes are taking place at Dunas Beach. These developments and enhancements are set to make it a truly world class tourist destination in its own right.
You'll find the new site plan and details of all the new facilities within the first Your Investment newsletter, including details on the new MELIÁ Gabi Club and Yhi Spa - both delivering the ultimate in luxury and indulgence. Our management partners, Sol Meliá, will of course be operating both the Dunas Beach and Tortuga Resorts once they're completed.
So all of our clients will benefit from Sol Meliá's well-earned reputation for delivering high occupancy rates on their resorts throughout the world.
Inside the newsletter, you'll also see some exciting new images of construction development on the Tortuga Resort site. This is now taking shape and the character of the resort is beginning to shine through. It will be an impressive five-star resort when it's finished and we're right on track to complete this development on time. Naturally, I can personally assure you that the overall build quality of Tortuga will be to the very highest standard and the best on the island.
Last year was full of great achievements and 2010 has started in similar fashion, as we hit the ‘1000 properties sold’ mark during January - a fantastic milestone for us all. So this year promises to be a great one yet again for The Resort Group and all our Clients.
We're working hard to provide high build quality and keep up the construction progress on both of our Dunas Beach and Tortuga developments.
We're also committed to maintaining the highest level of after-sales service for all of our clients. Our UK support staff are here to help and on hand to answer any questions or queries you may have. So as always, please don't hesitate to get in touch should you have any questions regarding your investment.
Kind Regards,
Rob Jarrett
Chairman
2010 promises to be another great year for The Resort Group
Whilst we look back on last year with a great sense of pride and achievement, we are fully focussed on the year ahead as 2010 has the potential to be the best yet for The Resort Group.
Construction on both our Cape Verde resorts continues with real intensity this year, as we remain on schedule with Tortuga and take some large steps forward with Dunas Beach. Whilst we continue to press ahead, the quality of build and finish remains at the very highest standard and is the most important element when delivering world-class resorts.
The big news of last year was undoubtedly signing full resort management contracts with Sol Melia. That is of huge significance to all existing and future clients of The Resort Group, as it means both our resorts will be in the expert hands of the largest resort hotelier in the world.
To put that into context, Sol Melia are three times larger than the current largest operator on Cape Verde, which means our clients can be very confident of high occupancy rates (current best on Island is 95%), and therefore can look forward to both a substantial and sustainable level of return.
More great news for 2010, is a refreshed look across all of our marketing, we want to restyle our look to offer a much more colourful, informative and hopefully inspiring view of our developments, as well as any other news and information that is of interest to our Clients.
We will be sending you a new Client magazine in early February to replace the current newsletter, plus we’ll also be redesigning our The Resort Group website, which is also scheduled for launch in February. That is in addition to the revamped look for Dunas Beach Resort, with a new brochures and website to showcase the luxurious enhancements made to the Resort. We’ll be sending a new Dunas Beach Resort brochure out to all our clients as soon as they’re available.
As ever, there is plenty going on at The Resort Group and much to look forward to, our support team are on hand as always and we’re here to help whenever you have a question or query relating to your investment.
Kind Regards,
Rob Jarrett
Chairman
In this month's message we have lots of exciting news to share with you as significant progress has been made in all areas for The Resort Group PLC. I am sure that you will find this edition a very interesting read.
Let me begin by advising all of our clients on Dunas Beach Resort that construction started on Monday 26th October. This was followed by the 'laying of the first stone' where we ceremoniously broke ground on 13th November.
Golden shovels were used by myself and His Excellency, Minister of State, in what was the largest resort launch in 2009 in the whole of Cape Verde.
The event was attended by many of our existing Dunas Beach clients and staff from The Resort Group along with many other dignitaries.
It was a fantastic occasion for all who attended, and once all formal speeches surrounding our development success and our invested interest in Cape Verde had been conducted to all key dignitaries, we all enjoyed a great evening of celebrations that continued well into the small hours.
Unbelievably this was not the premier event for The Resort Group during November. This was in fact the signing of operator agreements with the largest resort hotel group on the planet Sol Meliá! After some 14 months of discussions and many enhancements to both Dunas and Tortuga resorts, we are delighted to announce that both Tortuga and Dunas will be managed by Sol Meliá under their 'MELIÁ' brand. This is their five star European rated brand that will be the first of its kind and quality on the whole of Cape Verde.
This represents a magnificent result for all clients on Dunas and Tortuga Beach Resorts as the alliance with such a world renowned hotelier alone has been known in the past to give 25% capital growth to property under its management.
We cannot emphasise how special this partnership is for all of our Dunas and Tortuga clients, in my recent meetings with some of the key personnel of Sol Meliá, they made no secret in commenting that they see Cape Verde as one of their most exciting new destinations. This really is a momentous announcement for everyone involved!
We have included the official press release which can be found on Sol Meliá's website at www.solmelia.com for your information further on in this newsletter.
We announced the commencement of construction on Tortuga only 9 months ago and it is clear to see that once we start construction we seriously get down to work! We have attached a few recent images of Tortuga Beach Resort photographed from the air to show you an aerial view of the Resort and I hope you will be as pleased as I am to see just how far we have come in a relatively short space of time.
I am so impressed with Grupo San Jose and the speed at which the Resort has been taking shape, even more so of the quality and workmanship of both the exterior and interior fit out.
The same construction company is being used on Dunas Beach Resort and we trust you will share in our confidence that construction is indeed in very safe hands given the results so far.
Hopefully all the above will demonstrate that we at The Resort Group PLC really 'do what we say we are going to do.'
Kind Regards,
Rob Jarrett
Meliá Tortuga Beach Resort & Spa is currently under construction and will be fully operational in 2011.
Meliá Dunas Beach Resort construction commenced with the ground breaking ceremony this month and is planned to open in 2012.
Palma de Majorca, 18 November 09– Sol Meliá has reached an agreement with The Resort Group PLC to manage two new 5-Star Hotel Resorts on the Island of Sal, Cape Verde, under the MELIÁ brand. Cape Verde is an archipelago of 10 tropical islands in the Atlantic Ocean, 1,000 km south of the Canary Islands and 450 km west of Senegal. With a currency fixed to the Euro, politically very stable, fantastic beaches and year-round sunshine, Cape Verde is fast becoming one of the world’s most exciting tourist hot spots.
The two beach-front Resorts are located on the Island of Sal which enjoys beautiful white sandy beaches and an international airport with direct flights from around the world.
Meliá Tortuga Beach Resort & Spa and Meliá Dunas Beach Resort will provide combined condo-hotel accommodation of around 1,000 units. These will be a mixture of Hotel Suites and also privately owned Villas and Apartments located within the Resorts that will form part of the hotel rental itinerary under a condo-hotel arrangement.
Facilities and amenities for guests will be everything expected and demanded from the 5-Star Meliá brand. The guest experience across the two Resorts will be served by some 13 restaurants & eateries, 12 bars, swimming pools, convention and function suites, entertainment, kids club, sports facilities, shops and the impeccable service offered by Meliá in all of its hotels.
The Meliá Experience also includes state-of-the-art Gymnasiums and luxury Spas on each Resort, that will provide wellbeing and complete relaxation of the body and soul to the clients , under the Sol Melia’ s luxury Spa brand, Yhi Spa.
Sol Meliá has over 50 years experience and is the largest resort hotel company in the world. It is the largest hotel group in Spain, the sixth largest in Europe and number fifteen in the world ranking, currently operating more than 300 hotels in 28 countries and employs 34,000 people worldwide. With regard to this agreement, Sol Melia’s CEO and Vice Chairman, Gabriel Escarrer Jaume, firmly believes that “our Meliá Brand will add a great deal of value to the whole development, which has potential to become a hotel-destination in itself”.
The Resort Group has previously been involved in Andalucía, Spain with Casares del Sol, and also in the ultra-luxurious Trump International Hotel & Tower in Toronto. They
entered the Cape Verde Tourism and Real Estate market in late 2006 and are now fully committed for the long term, and actively looking for further opportunities.
Chairman, Rob Jarrett, says; “The Resort Group is absolutely delighted and very proud to have Sol Meliá operate Tortuga Beach Resort & Spa and Dunas Beach Resort. I am particularly thrilled that the Hotels will be the luxurious 5-Star MELIA brand. I genuinely believe that the quality of the Resorts combined with the experience; huge reservation capacity and very high standards of Sol Meliá will be a truly winning proposition for everyone concerned, especially the people of Cape Verde itself. I would also like to thank all the Authorities in Cape Verde who have been a pleasure to work with and also the people of Sal who have welcomed us so warmly. I give my assurance and that of everyone at The Resort Group, that we will do everything in our power to deliver Resorts to be proud of, lasting employment and substantial economic benefits.”
About Sol Meliá
Sol Meliá was founded in 1956 in Palma de Mallorca (Spain) and is the world’s leading resort hotel chain, as well as Spain’s leading hotel chain in both the business and leisure markets. It currently has more than 300 hotels in 28 countries on 4 continents. The brands operated by the company are Gran Meliá, Meliá, ME, Innside, Tryp, Sol, Paradisus and Sol Meliá Vacation Club.
Sol Meliá is the only travel company included in the exclusive “Footse4Good Ibex” Spanish stock market index, and is the third company in Spain to generate the greatest degree of confidence and is ranked within the top three hotel chains as far as Corporate Reputation is concerned. The company currently employs more than 34,000 people worldwide with staff from over 80 different countries. The company fully respects equal rights and balance in its contracting of male and female staff and 10% of its workforce is made up of immigrants.
Minister of State Breaks Ground on Dunas Beach Resort
"Bo terra sta na nha coracao"
The ground breaking ceremony of Dunas Beach Resort on the Island of Sal in Cape Verde took place on 13 November 2009.
The Prime Minister had graciously agreed to preside over the event but was unfortunately taken ill a couple of days before. It was, however, an honour that the Minister of State attended in his place. Activities commenced with the Minister of State and Rob Jarrett, Chairman of The Resort Group, using golden shovels to pour the first block of concrete and then laid a ceremonial stone. As is tradition, a lucky €1 coin was thrown into the block and champagne bottles were popped as the attendees drank a congratulatory toast.
Also in attendance were the Secretary of State for the Economy, a representative of the Mayor of Sal, the President of the CI and many other Dignitaries from the various authorities of Cape Verde. A number of sales Agents plus Purchasers who have already bought property on Dunas Beach Resort were also present. Various members of the press attended and recorded the event.
The ground breaking activity was organised and supervised by construction company Grupo San Jose and their joint venture partner Sogei.
Guests were then invited to a reception at the Hotel Odjo D’Agua in Santa Maria where Champagne, Caipirinhas and Canapes were waiting on arrival.
On the way back to Santa Maria, the Dignitaries were taken on an interesting diversion as they were given a tour of Tortuga Beach Resort & Spa just down the beach. Tortuga is the first project that The Resort Group undertook on the Island of Sal and it was only in January of this year that the Ground Breaking event took place with the Prime Minister. Everyone agreed that the progress of Tortuga has been nothing short of amazing. Grupo San Jose and Sogei have worked relentlessly and the 300 or so workers, mainly from the local workforce, were acknowledged as being an absolute credit to Cape Verde (there will be some 500 workers employed on the construction of Dunas).
At the Hotel Odjo D’Agua the formal speeches then followed starting with a presentation on the Dunas project by developer The Resort Group. This included the positive reasons why Cape Verde and the Island of Sal were chosen and that the Resort has bucked the trend during the current worldwide economic uncertainty, evidenced by nearly 600 of the Villas and Apartments already being sold (which represents more than 2/3rds). Dunas will also include a 5-Star Hotel with a variety of quality restaurants, elegant and stylish bars, state of the art gymnasium, luxury spa, sports facilities, huge communal pools, shops and all the amenities you would expect from a 5-Star Resort. Over €80 million will be invested into Dunas making it a Resort that everyone can be proud of.
The next speech gave thanks, on behalf of the Chairman and everyone at The Resort Group, to the Minister of State for presiding over the event and all associated parties for their support of Dunas Beach Resort. Although there were too many names to mention everyone involved, particular thanks were offered to President Cardoso Santos and all at the CI, architects HCP, ‘Scapa’ and Victor Fidalgo, Erico Verissimo, Loid Engenharia, all at the Municipality, the Municipal Assembly, City Council, Registrar, Notary, Chairman of the Port, Chief of Police, Alexandra Pereira law firm, all staff of The Resort Group PLC, Luis Rodrigues and the team at GPA law firm, PWC, Savills, Studio DM, Oxygen, Signature Interiors, furniture company Rhooms, Locus, The Space Studio, Land-Scope, Servoplan, Emission Zero, Halcrow Yolles, Inca Media, IVC Media, Porcelanosa, Comprex, Zanette, ECP, Technasol, Geo Tech, APP, PM International, the Press, neighbouring developments & hotels, other Developers & Promoters, Cabocan, banks Banif & BCN, sales Agents, Purchasers and the people of Sal & Cape Verde. Special thanks was given to construction company Grupo San Jose and joint venture partner Sogei for the tremendous work on Tortuga and for their professionalism & commitment to Dunas.
There then followed a momentous announcement as The Resort Group confirmed that Management Agreements have been signed with the Sol Melia hotel group to operate the Dunas and Tortuga 5-Star Hotel Resorts, under the MELIA brand.
MELIA Dunas Beach Resort and MELIA Tortuga Beach Resort & Spa will provide combined hotel accommodation of around 1,000 units and give a further tremendous boost to the Island’s tourism.
A separate Press Release issued from Sol Melia and The Resort Group gives more detail of the announcement but a few interesting facts that highlight the magnitude and size of the Sol Melia group are shown below: -
- Over 50 years experience.
- Over 300 hotels in 28 countries.
- Employs 34,000 people from 80 countries worldwide.
- 5.3 Million registered customers.
- Assets of over €4 Billion.
- The largest hotel group in Spain.
- 6th Largest in Europe.
- 15th Largest in the world.
- The largest ‘Resort’ hotel operator on the planet!
The negotiations between The Resort Group and Sol Melia have been ongoing for well over a year and resulted in The Resort Group committing millions of Euros of additional spend into the facilities and amenities of Dunas and Tortuga. This was required to meet the exacting standards of the 5-Star Melia brand.
Sol Melia coming to the Island is a major coup for Sal and clearly demonstrates that Cape Verde is a country on the up and a country that is competing strongly on the tourism world stage!
The speech ended by confirming The Resort Group's long term commitment to Cape Verde and stressed that it is a great privilege and honour to be involved with the country. This was summed up by the final words (as had happened at the Tortuga event) that were spoken in Creole ... "Bo terra sta na nha coracao" (Your land is in my heart).
The Minister of State then made an impassioned speech and was very complimentary about Dunas Beach Resort and the economic benefits it will bring. The support of the Government to The Resort Group was kindly reiterated both on Tortuga and Dunas plus all future projects. Great emphasis was made of the progress being made by Cape Verde, especially as an international tourism destination, and the successful efforts everyone is making to encourage international investment.
All guests then enjoyed a party for the rest of the evening. The festivities started with drinks accompanied by musicians playing relaxing classics in the background and then moved onto a private beach for a BBQ. Partygoers then danced the night away to superb reggae band ‘Dub Squad’.
Rob Jarrett said, "This has been an amazing day for everyone at The Resort Group. Breaking ground on our second development this year and the announcement of Sol Melia operating both Resorts makes this one of the proudest days of my working life. I am extremely grateful to the Minister of State and the Prime Minister for their support and to everyone who has contributed to the success of Dunas and Tortuga. The people of Cape Verde, and Sal in particular, have been so friendly and made us feel very welcome. We will work tirelessly and do everything in our power to deliver quality Resorts that will benefit the Island for years to come."
LK@theresortgroupplc.com
UK Representative Office: +44 (0)1332 387818
October has been another great month for The Resort Group PLC. We are now seeing amazing consistency of enquiries and sales month in month out. The last 3 months have seen average sales of over 45 per month, and in the month of October 48 new sales. Tortuga Beach Resort & Spa has been sold out for some time and Dunas Beach Resort is now over 2/3 sold.
Pension sales via SIPP and FPT (Self Invested Personal Pension & Family Pension Trusts) continue to make a healthy contribution to new sales on Dunas Beach Resort. It is estimated that around £80 billion pounds is locked into frozen pension schemes in the UK, small wonder that so many people are looking at the opportunity as a means of unlocking this huge potential.
I am delighted to advise that construction for Dunas Beach Resort started on Monday 26th
October and have included a few early photographs to demonstrate the mobilisation of plant and equipment to the site. We have entered into a contract with Grupo San Jose who's quality of build and workmanship is superb and will be unrivaled in Cape Verde. Grupo San Jose are the principal contractor on Tortuga Beach Resort & Spa where they have already moved ahead of build schedule. We look forward to watching the progress on the second of our developments. The excitement is certainly building!
Our Ground Breaking event for Dunas Beach Resort has unfortunately had to be postponed to the 13th November due to an unforeseen commitment that the Prime Minister had to attend, and due to strict government protocol we had no choice but to rearrange. All arrangements are now in place for the ceremony to take place at 4.00pm on site, and for all formal speeches, refreshments and entertainment to take place at the Odjo D'Agua Hotel from 7.00pm until late. This will be a fantastic event for all who can attend and we will be communicating to all of our clients to update you on how the ceremony went.
Construction on Tortuga Beach Resort & Spa continues to move at a great pace, and an update is included later in this Newsletter.
The Resort Group attended the OPP Live exhibition at London's ExCel Centre on the 22nd, 23rd and 24th October. This was a superb opportunity to raise awareness of The Resort Group brand, and we were delighted with the number of new customers and business partners that have come on board as a result.
What was very clear from the show was the growing interest in Cape Verde as a destination for discerning investors. Another obvious theme of the exhibition was the interest in the opportunity to invest in overseas property through personal pensions and The Resort Group product is clearly one of very few that ticks all the boxes for investors looking to take this route.
I hope you enjoy reading our October Newsletter and look forward to updating you next month.
Enjoy!
Kind Regards,
Rob Jarrett
Chairman
Cape Verde could see a major boost in tourism figures according to travel and property experts thanks to the launch of a new inter-island ferry service.
Up until now the only way to get across from one island to another in Cape Verde has been by aeroplane, and real estate experts believe the new transport links could have a huge and positive impact to tourism and of course anyone who has a property to rent. This cheaper and more effective way of travel between the islands is believed to become very popular to the under-25s market travelling to Cape Verde, articularly to enjoy the outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing and kite-surfing.
Cape Verde has already received a number of great tourism boosts in 2009. It was ranked as number 4 out of Expedia’s ‘Top 10 Destinations to visit worldwide’ for its ‘Year-round sunshine, white sandy beaches and Creole culture. A perfect mix to offer you a relaxing holiday.” New Zealand was ranked at number 1, followed by Argentina and China.
In addition, Cape Verde’s capital city Praia was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage site – again boosting the countries’ tourism figures. With more and more exciting developments evolving from this emerging market, Cape Verde is well and truly on the map. It is evident that Cape Verde continues to grow in popularity in terms of travel, holiday and as an investment hot spot for many people around the globe. We firmly believe that this emerging market will only become more buoyant and more visible on the world stage as time goes by... becoming the new Caribbean for Europe!
The Resort Group PLC attended the OPP Live Event at London’s ExCel Centre last week. It proved to be a very worthwhile event to attend, not only to raise awareness of The Resort Group brand, but also to engage with our many clients and our agent fraternity.
A great deal of new business was established at the event and new relationships were forged as a result, particularly from people enquiring about using their pension as an investment vehicle and about our inspection trips to Cape Verde.
Approximately 6,000 people attended the event over the three day period, and we will no doubt be returning to this event next year by which time we will be well into the launch of our third beachfront resort on the Island of Sal.
The event was attended by The Resort Group’s Sales Account Managers who enjoyed the day talking to clients about Cape Verde, our inspection trips and ways in which to invest in a ‘piece of paradise.’ Our Managing Director Charlie King also attended OPP Live and conducted a number of seminars throughout the course of the three day event, all about our product offering and how to use your pension as an investment vehicle.
Client feedback was fantastic as we were able to give clients a real feel of exactly what to expect from their investment by displaying actual furniture samples of the living room suite for Tortuga Beach Resort & Spa and the comfortable table and chairs which would be used for Tortuga terrace areas.
This coupled with a DVD presentation displaying CGI pictures of Tortuga and Dunas virtual tour, plus actual video footage of construction in progress only reinforced our product offering, and boosted client confidence to share the success of a developer that actually does what they say they are going to do.
The Resort Group is proud to announce the start of construction on Dunas Beach Resort as of Monday 26th October!
The construction works commenced on Monday 26th October, and this last week has seen the mobilisation of some of the heavy plant equipment and machinery to site. We have entered into a contract with Grupo San Jose, the principal contractor on Tortuga Beach Resort & Spa where they have already moved ahead of build schedule.
We will soon be able to see the formation of platform levels, perimeter fencing being erected and pits being dug in the locations where the foundations will be constructed for various properties. This is a truly exciting time for all Dunas investors and we are very much looking forward to watching the development grow as the months go by.
We will be updating our website www.theresortgroupplc.com on a monthly basis to show you the pictures and video footage of construction progress at Dunas Beach Resort.
Final preparations are being made for the forthcoming Ground Breaking ceremony which will be held on 13th November. The Resort Group are honoured that the Prime Minister of Cape Verde has graciously agreed to preside over the event which will take place at 4.00pm local time at Dunas Beach Resort followed by an evening presentation, refreshments and entertainment at The Odjo D’Agua Hotel for any clients who are attending.
Due to the high demand of clients wishing to attend the event, places are very limited and strictly on a first come first served basis. You must contact Lisa Kellett on 01332 387 815 to confirm your attendance as anyone whose name is not on the guest list may be refused entry on the day due to the strict security regulations surrounding the Prime Minister and government dignitaries attending.
September has been an incredible month and we have successfully consolidated 50 new sales on Dunas Beach Resort, Sal Island, Cape Verde. A fantastic achievement and another record smashed for the second consecutive month running.
Contributing to our success is the increasing number of new and existing clients who are buying our properties through their pension funds. Awareness is growing in respect of our fully SIPP compliant offering with over 80 buyers now purchasing through this route since the option was launched in May. As a result of this strong interest we will be conducting more road shows around the UK and have now confirmed additional venues for November. We hope to see many of you at our forthcoming events and look forward to sharing information with you on how SIPP purchases are transforming many clients’ future prospects of real wealth in retirement. It has been a delight to see so many existing clients attending our UK road shows and we really appreciate the very positive feedback they have been giving.
Construction on Tortuga Beach Resort & Spa continues to progress at an even faster rate than we had believed possible and the standards of build quality and finish have really impressed all those who have visited the site in recent weeks.
Plans for construction to commence on Dunas Beach Resort are now being finalised and arrangements are now in hand to conduct our Dunas ground breaking event. This will be a fantastic event to attend for any of you wishing to visit the Island or if you are planning a holiday in Cape Verde soon. We will be in touch with you all shortly to confirm the exact date and festivities planned for this exciting occasion.
Further positive news is the completion of contract stages to acquire our third plot of land to launch another 5 star resort complex between our Tortuga and Dunas Beach developments, details of which will be released early next year.
Interest rates remain the most competitive they have been for a number of years and the recent green shoots of recovery seem to be really gathering pace. The UK property market is moving forward again helping to secure and increase equity, and whilst unemployment rates are likely to take a little longer to show improvement it looks highly likely that we will officially move out of recession shortly.
We at The Resort Group have experienced a significant increase in enquiries over the last few months and it is our firm belief that by choosing the right location for a foreign property investment, in a market that is on the up and has room to grow, your investment is much safer and somewhat insulated against the sometimes unpredictable nature of housing markets in certain parts of the world. Cape Verde really is an amazing place to invest and completely fits the bill in today's climate.
There is no secret to property investment, it is just common sense overlaid with the benefit of experience. We only offer properties of a very high standard within a highly desirable location. With the right property in the right place, you secure a good return on your investment, a revenue stream if you decide to rent your property and, of course, your own holiday home to enjoy.
We know that there has been a recession, but The Resort Group have chosen not to take part in it. Bullish words to say, but we are very serious when it comes down to providing our investors with one promise: To deliver a five star luxury development for lifestyle usage and a high yield of investment return year on year.
I hope you enjoy reading our September newsletter and look forward to updating you next month.
Enjoy!
Kind regards
Rob Jarrett
Chairman
