Harlequin signs Letter of Intent with property developer

Caribbean hotelier Harlequin announced Wednesday it has signed a Letter of Intent with international property developer AJR Holdings, an affiliate of real estate investor Ott Properties, to provide a Development Platform service to progress Harlequin’s outstanding developments.

Harlequin, which has two trading hotels, including the multi-award-winning Buccament Bay Resort in St Vincent and the {{more}}Grenadines, intends to open all of its outstanding projects across Barbados, Dominican Republic, and St Lucia.

The proposed deal between Harlequin and AJR involves a Development Platform Framework Agreement that covers all development, pre-construction, construction, and project management works for Harlequin’s developments.

Ott Properties is a diversified real estate, property development, and investment company with offices in Paris, Berlin, and Prague. The owners have been in the industry since 1991 and previous projects include the well regarded MaMaison Hotels & Residences (10 properties), Suncani Hvar Hotels (seven hotels), and numerous residential developments in Europe. They have successfully undertaken development and asset management for real estate projects worth over three billion.

It is intended that a formal agreement will be put in place by the summer of 2016. Harlequin is currently preparing for its upcoming US $70 million civil claim for professional negligence against its former accountants, Wilkins Kennedy LLP. The case will be heard for six weeks in the London High Court from June 13.

Harlequin chair Dave Ames said of the Letter of Intent:

“This announcement is a great boost for Harlequin and our investors. The US$70 million professional negligence claim against accountancy firm Wilkins Kennedy, which TheLawyer.com has labelled one of the top 20 cases of the year, will soon be behind us and this Letter of Intent is the latest part of Harlequin’s recovery and commitment to do business.

“Harlequin’s challenges in recent years are well-publicised and yet, in spite of the pressures, the business has kept pushing forward with a number of investors completing on their investments at Buccament Bay Resort, extraordinary occupancy rates at the hotel, and World Travel Awards nominations.

“It’s also important to acknowledge our investors; without their support and resilience in the face of cynical ambulance chasers and defamatory campaigns, we could not be where we are today.

“We are excited for the future and the message to our investors is this: the hard work and patience will soon bear fruit.”