By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A “jewel of Eleuthera” is said to be attracting significant buyer interest after being put up for sale with a $15m price tag, a local realtor has disclosed.

Mark Hussey, of Damianos Sotheby’s International Realty, told Tribune Business that the Governor’s Harbour-based French Leave Resort was likely to sell “relatively quickly” based on the interest received to-date.

“It’s just come on the market but there’s been a lot of interest so far,” he said. “I think the interest is very high, and I think it will sell in due course. I think it will happen relatively quickly in my opinion.

“It’s kind of a jewel of Eleuthera that little development. It’s a very popular site in the right part of town. It’s a beautiful, well-built development. I just had lunch there last week.”

The original Heads of Agreement for the French Leave property, which stands on the former Club Med property, was obtained by US investor Eddie Lauth under the first Christie administration in 2004.

When contacted by Tribune Business about the sale, Mr Lauth referred this newspaper to the Pennsylvania-based Shaner Hotel Group’s president, Plato Ghinos, who did could not be reached before press time. Mr Lauth now runs Shaner’s financing arm, Shaner Capital.

French Leave’s occupancies, according to Damianos Sotheby’s, ran at 80 percent during the winter season pre-COVID-19. “With..... the opportunity to acquire franchising and branding rights through Marriott, this investment opportunity offers investors significant upside along with the right to exercise the option to operate the hotel as a sole proprietor,” the realtor said in its marketing materials.

“Built in 2015, French Leave Resort Autograph Collection Hotel is situated on 8.23 harbourfront acres and consists of a total of 20 villas averaging 700 square feet with a unit mix of 13 studios, two two-bedroom villas and a four-bedroom villa with a private pool.

“On-site amenities and additional revenue streams include the 1648 Bar & Grill; a fitness centre; gift shop/reception area; an events plaza/lawn; a wedding pavilion; two mega yacht slips and one ski dock; a laundry facility and a water treatment plant. The property was also granted a 15-year property tax exemption under the Hotel Encouragements Act that is applicable through 2030.”

Damianos Sotheby’s added: “The opportunity exists to add more villas on-site or to acquire the adjacent land parcels on the Atlantic Beach side of the property for development into a sizeable luxury condo-hotel resort that would complement the existing hotel. Pre-pandemic occupancy levels for the hotel were steady at 80 percent during the winter season.”