It has been over three months since our last update and whilst there may not have been many visible signs of progress during that time, as usual things have been progressing in the background.

Golf Course Design

As you may remember at the last update meeting I explained how I had been given the task of researching golf designers and then inviting them to come and present to us so that we could make a decision as to who we would like to design our new course. The opportunity to design the Port St. George golf course attracted proposals from several top name golf course design companies and choosing between them was a difficult task. After very thorough research we have selected the internationally renowned Robert Trent Jones II (RTJ2) as the signature designer for the course and a Letter of Intent has been entered into with them. I know that all of you that play golf will be as excited as we are to have been able to attract one of the worlds top names in golf architecture. You will all also, I’m sure, be interested in the way that their types of design increase the value of the real estate within developments of this nature. For anyone who isn’t as familiar with the RTJ2 name then perhaps you’ll know of some of the courses that they have been involved with the design of including The Celtic Manor Resort in Wales, The Wisley Golf Club in Surrey and over 240 courses in 40 countries over 6 continents. In any case we are sure that you’ll be impressed with their pedigree and their attention to detail in working with the natural features of the land to create stunning courses that blend harmoniously with the existing landscape.

At this stage the appointment is subject to the negotiation of final terms, but we are confident that we shall be working with them to make the Port St. George golf course truly spectacular.

For further information about Robert Trent Jones II please follow this link

Mott MacDonald

The Mott MacDonald Group (www.mottmac.com) is a management, engineering and development consultancy serving the public and private sectors world-wide. The firm’s US$1.5 billion business spans 140 countries with 13,000 staff, covering all stages of the development cycle, from preparing the business case and advising on related issues to designing and implementing the solution and providing ongoing support.

Mott MacDonald has worked with BDO and RUFO to verify the timelines and cost estimates for the Port St. George development. They have also prepared drafts of a Project Brief and Project Execution Plan and further work is currently in hand to get both of these lengthy documents to their final format.

We expect the relationship with Mott MacDonald to be ongoing and that we shall be using their global expertise to ensure that the development of Port St. George is carried out on time, on budget and to the highest standards.

Other Appointments

A great deal of progress has been made towards appointing companies to take on other matters in respect of the project and some choices have been made. We shall make announcements as and when we have entered into Letters of Intent with the companies concerned.

Full Approval

Obviously, you will all be looking for news of progress towards gaining full approval for the Port St. George development. You will no doubt recall that the Bahamas Government has already granted Approval in Principle (similar to a UK outline planning consent) for all aspects of the Port St. George development - except the casino - subject to certain conditions being satisfied:

• Utilities: We are required to liase with the utility companies to ensure that our requirements for new supplies can be met. The work required to comply with this condition is already well underway. Curly and Jon will be in The Bahamas during the last week of June and first week of July with a view to holding the remaining meetings which are required in order to ensure compliance with this condition during that period.
• Funding: We must provide the Bahamas Government with “conclusive proof of funding” for the development in order that they can be assured that we have the necessary finance to complete the project. The current “credit crunch” has not derailed our funding arrangements with BDO Stoy Hayward Investment Management Limited in any way, on the contrary a great deal of progress has been made since their Investment Director addressed the update meeting that we held in January. Instructions have now been given to our lawyers to begin drafting the documentation for production to Government to ensure compliance with this condition.
• Consultation with the community on North Long Island and Long Island District Councils: This condition has been complied with.
• Environmental Impact Assessment: The EIA presented to the Bahamas Government on 15th January 2008 ran to 446 pages. Obviously there is considerable work involved for the BEST Commission, whose role is to advise the Government on such matters, to complete their review of the document. Consequently, we allowed three months to elapse before we asked our lawyers to request a progress report. Last Thursday, a response was received from the Bahamas Investment Authority confirming that they had requested the comments of the BEST Commission on the EIA and that “the Government is anxious for both the Caribbean Heights and Port St. George projects to commence”. Since the letter was received Islands by Design, who prepared the EIA, have met with the BEST Commission and both Islands by Design and RUFO will do everything possible in order to ensure that the BEST Commission respond to the Bahamas Investment Authority’s request as quickly as possible. Immediate instructions were also been given to our lawyers to continue the dialogue with the Office of the Prime Minister in order to progress matters as speedily as possible.

We remain on course to obtain full approval for the Port St. George development and the recent letter from the Bahamas Investment Authority re-affirms the backing of the Bahamas Government, which has already been stated publicly at the Town Meeting held on Long Island in November 2007 and in separate Ministerial speeches since then. However, the time being taken by the BEST Commission to respond to the Environmental Impact Assessment has already been longer than we had hoped it would be.

Timing of Right to Buy Window

The delay in obtaining the BEST Commission’s comments on the Environmental Impact Assessment means that we are now behind the timeline we estimated in January this year. This inevitably means that the projected date for the 60 day Right to Buy window has to be put back by a similar period. Our best estimate of when the Right to Buy window will be is now during the first quarter of 2009.

Title Deeds

We are aware that a number of purchasers of plots at Stella Maris have expressed concern that they have not yet received their title deeds. This is not a matter where we have any direct control or influence as title deeds are, of course, handled by the lawyers and not by us. However, we have asked for an explanation of why some clients haven’t yet received their title deeds even though their purchase may have completed as much as two years ago. A lengthy explanation has been received from Sean B. Callender & Company and this can be read on our website.

Obviously this general explanation, whilst informative, does not give specific information to any individual client regarding where in the process of registration his or her conveyance may be. So, steps are being taken to gather the information as to which steps have already taken place and which remain outstanding in respect of each and every plot sale. This will take a little time, but we hope to have the information by the end of May. Thereafter, if you would like to know the current position in respect of the registration of your own plot, please e-mail Vikki at admin@rufoinvest.com and she will advise you accordingly. Similarly, if you would like a copy of the official Land Registry receipt in relation to your plot then please let Vikki know and she will ask Sean B. Callender & Co. to forward a copy by e-mail.