By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

An Eleuthera resort project is targeting select investors over a potential preference share investment as it takes market “soundings” to gauge the best option for financing its build-out.

Sir Franklyn Wilson, the Eleuthera Properties and Jack’s Bay chairman, confirmed to Tribune Business that selected investors have been approached as part of an exercise to determine whether the Bahamian capital markets or a Scotiabank debt financing package provides the most competitive solution.

“Yes, it is true,” he said when approached by this newspaper. “The fact of the matter is so much is going on that we think it’s in our interest to broaden our base sooner rather than later. It’s working two ways because people are also calling us.”

Scotiabank (Bahamas) committed in September 2023 to providing financing that would enable Jack’s Bay to build-out its amenities and provide mortgage funding to its homeowners. However, Sir Franklyn said the developer has yet to use any of this funding, which in “the first phase” totalled $23m, as it assesses whether approaching investors via a capital markets offering would provide a cheaper, more competitive solution.

“The bottom line is... it depends,” he told Tribune Business. “Remember, Scotiabank had offered, but we never drew that down. We never drew any of that down, so the fact of the matter is we have a choice. Do we go with the Scotiabank facility or do we with capital market access. That is the debate we are having internally.

“The point I am making is that we have never touched that facility. Since that time a lot has happened in our favour so we are now reviewing our plans as to what we do. Because we have so much going on, the question has become what is the best strategy for us?

“We have never utilised the facility that Scotiabank made public, which was for $23m in the first phase. We’ll see where we are. This is like a market sounding. We’ll see what the market says and see what we do.”

The investor approaches come with Jack’s Bay and its parent company now able to “entertain more and more deep pocketed investors” after obtaining a public company ‘exemption’ from the Securities Commission of The Bahamas in late 2024.

This allows Eleuthera Properties to be more accommodating to the growing number of Bahamians approaching it about investing in the 1,200-acre project after the regulator’s year-end decision to exempt it from having to comply with the obligations imposed on public companies.

The Securities Commission, in a December 30, 2024, notice also “ordered that Eleuthera Properties is not a public issuer” on condition that the developer “amends its constitutive documents” - such as its memorandum and articles of association - “to expressly prohibit any invitation to the public to subscribe for any securities” in the company via an initial public offering (IPO) or similar mechanism.

And, as a further condition of the ‘exempt’ designation, Eleuthera Properties - which already has more than 50 equity owners - cannot take on more than150 shareholders. Sir Franklyn told this newspaper previously that the exemption, which was requested by the developer, gives it more flexibility - and opens the door further - when choosing whether to accept potential investors as new shareholders/equity owners.

And, in exempting it from public company obligations such as increased reporting and disclosure requirements, the Securities Commission has also established clear ‘rules of the game’ and limits on how many owners Eleuthera Properties can have so as not to breach any regulatory requirements.

Dionisio D’Aguilar, ex-minister of tourism and aviation, and Dr Ronald Knowles, former minister of health, were both cited by Sir Franklyn at the time as examples of the calibre of investor that Eleuthera Properties is attracting.

Jack’s Bay has a large number of Bahamian shareholders in its immediate holding company, Eleuthera Properties. While Sir Franklyn’s Sunshine Holdings group is the largest shareholder, its other investors include the likes of Colina, BAF Financial, the John Bull Group of Companies and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC).

Besides the corporate investors, the Anglican Church has been “gifted” shares in Eleuthera Properties Ltd, while the estates of the late John Morley and Billy Lowe were also among the shareholders.

Eleuthera links to the investors are through the estates of the late Albert Sands and Whitfield Kemp. Another Eleuthera shareholder is businessman Lawrence Griffin from Governor’s Harbour, while Sir Orville Turnquest, the former governor-general, and his family - long-time investment and business partners of Sir Franklyn - are also invested.

However, in sealing the debt financing package from Scotiabank, Sir Franklyn said in 2023: “This is a very significant development Jack’s Bay is now in an incredible position where the Royal Bank of Canada is an investor with actual ordinary shares; an equity investor. Scotiabank is in in a very complementary way.

“We have two of the three big Canadian banks involved in Jack’s Bay in ways that are pretty unique. That [Scotiabank’s partnership] is a very, very strong endorsement. Let’s just say we are very pleased it happened at a significant time because there are a lot of other things happening that we’ll be announcing to the public in short order.”

Besides mortgage financing for real estate buyers, the Scotiabank financing package also includes a development loan. This will fund Jack’s Bay first phase development, which will include the Atlantic Club; a sports pavilion; upgrades to the current beach club known as the Pink House; a 7,000 square foot spa village; ready-to-build lots on Founders Row; and 12 Atlantic Club cottages.

“By structuring a tailored financing solution and extending our local knowledge and expertise throughout the course of the transaction, we were happy to have played a role in making the project a reality. Scotiabank’s unique positioning in The Bahamas allows us to support our clients in a variety of ways on projects of all sizes,” said Gregory Stuart, head of corporate and commercial banking at Scotiabank.

“We do this by providing end-to-end financial and operating solutions, thereby allowing them to capitalise on lucrative opportunities with ease. Jack’s Bay is an invaluable and timely addition to the real estate inventory that is available in The Bahamas.”

Among the amenities already in place at Jack’s Bay are existing food and beverage outlets, a 10-hole golf course designed by Tiger Woods and TGR Design, 18 partially completed residential and mixed-use buildings and a 22,000-square foot partially completed activity centre with a pool and direct beach access.