By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

LUCAYAN Renewal Holdings Limited, the government’s special purpose vehicle given the task of finding a purchaser for the Grand Lucayan, has received “several” expressions of interest from prospective buyers.

Finance Minister K Peter Turnquest confirmed this, but would not reveal how many enquiries were received. Of those, he said there were “some” Bahamian groups wanting to purchase the Grand Bahama resort.

While government officials are not yet publicly revealing what the volume of responses to the EOIs could look like, The Tribune understands there may be as many as 12.

However, the process to choosing a reputable and capable buyer comes down to proper vetting, sources familiar with this kind of process said. The Tribune was told the government is keen on preventing this deal from mirroring that of the controversial Oban Energies oil refinery deal proposed for Grand Bahama.

The special purpose vehicle is planning to use several international due diligence mechanisms to ensure the prospective purchasers are not from the black market and are financially capable of running the hotel.

Last week, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis told House members EOIs had already started to trickle in.

He made the disclosure as he revealed the government made the decision to step away from the Wynn Group’s proposal for the hotel because its CEO, Paul Wynn, wanted extraordinary concessions in a deal that would have cost the Minnis administration $159.65m.

Those concessions featured discounted electricity rates and permission to employ hundreds of foreign workers, including some without work permits, among other things, he told Parliament last week Thursday.

Dr Minnis noted the cost of this would have been “substantially” more than the $65m his administration will now pay to temporarily own the hotel. However, opposition parliamentarians noted in their speeches that the $65m far from captures all the costs associated with acquiring and operating the resort, with Exuma and Ragged Island MP Chester Cooper “conservatively” putting the overall cost at $100m.

Dr Minnis said Mr Wynn’s requests earlier this year made it clear the only option was for the government to purchase the resort in Grand Bahama.

He said of the Wynn Group’s requests: “I don’t want to say where I told them to go and how deep, but the government made it clear, Mr Speaker, that the requested concessions could not be agreed.”

In his speech, Dr Minnis said in July Mr Wynn asked to be given a 20 percent electricity discount rate, permission to employ 420 non-Bahamians for work on the project and an ability to have 15 percent pre-approval on non Bahamian employment without the need to apply for work permits.

He also explained Mr Wynn wanted to be exempt from paying any increase in taxes along with an annual marketing subsidy of $750,000, no casino taxes and a commitment from the government to either buying or building a new airport within two years.

Further, Dr Minnis said the government would have also had to agree to pay Mr Wynn for any losses he may have incurred with a guaranteed profit of seven percent.

The prime minister made these revelations in parliament among several others last week as the government by way of a resolution seeks to borrow $35m to complete the purchase of the resort.

Prior to the May 2017 general election, Dr Minnis said Mr Wynn, a Canadian developer, entered into a letter of intent with Hutchinson Whampoa – the Lucayan’s outgoing owners – with the intent to purchase the properties for more than the price the government will now pay.

At the time, Mr Wynn asked the government to pay them $2m 60 days after closing; $8m per year for the first three years for property subsidy; another annual subsidy of $7.2m for the following two years; and a $1.5m casino subsidy for five years.

Another $7m was also requested for three years for an airlift subsidy, along with an agreement for Most Favoured Nation status.