The Tribune

A Florida-based family who engaged in a bitter public battle with the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) and its affiliates have put all their Freeport interests up for sale with a $46.5m asking price.

The Del Zotto family have placed Gold Rock Corporation, their concrete manufacturing and supply business, as well as the Home Design Centre and Do It Centre on the market exclusively with James Sarles Realty as they seek to make a complete exit from the island following last year’s war of words with Freeport’s quasi-governmental authority and Grand Bahama Development Company (DevCO).

An e-mail marketing the Del Zotto assets, which was obtained by Tribune Business, states: “The well-known Gold Rock facility on Grand Bahama, 80 miles from Florida, is for sale, which includes over 57 acres of prime commercial land plus 273,000 square feet of retail, warehouse and manufacturing buildings. The offering is for the entire facility as is.

“Gold Rock includes a 107,100 square foot warehouse/retail building; the Home Design Centre with 32,980 square feet retail and 20,000 square feet warehouse space totalling 52,980 square feet; open lumber storage with 11,330 square feet of building material storage; openl umber storage two with 6,702 square feet of building storage.”

Then there is the Gold Rock concrete plant with 33,360 square feet that “includes Gold Rock office, pre-cast concrete plant and steel fabrication shop; truck storage building with 23,819 square feet of secured mechanic maintenance bays and open truck storage; batch plant one with 6,000 square feet ready-mix batch plant covered; block plant three with 22,653 square feet of block plant with generator building and attached concrete testing; storage building two that includes 9,260 square feet of open storage.”

The e-mail continued: “The block plant and ready-mix facility are currently closed but can be activated. This is a unique opportunity for a capable entrepreneur to purchase the entire facility and take advantage of the existing business and future potential of this facility. The entire facility is for sale.”

Mr Sarles could not be reached for comment last night, but confirmation of the Del Zottos’ exit drew a mixed reaction from Freeport’s business community. One source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “They’re out. Every single last thing. They couldn’t stay. I figured the Del Zottos would be gone. They couldn’t have stayed. It didn’t make any sense.”

Another contact added: “It was inevitable. They were never going to get their own way. Oh well, there they go. Another one bites the dust. They were coming in here to show us all how to do business and off they go. Several sources said the specific purposing of Gold Rock’s facilities for concrete manufacturing and industrial use was likely to attract a more narrow, limited buyer pool than normal.

However, if projects such as the Carnival cruise port and Royal Caribbean’s come to fruition, along with the $1bn of pipeline investments touted by both Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister, and Ian Rolle, GBPA president, then there will be significant demand on Grand Bahama for cement and concrete.

Thus the Gold Rock site could prove attractive for Bahamas Hot Mix and Glennett Fowler’s Heroic Group, both of which would be industry buyers given their own concrete production facilities on Grand Bahama. And several sources suggested the 57-acre site could prove attractive as warehouse and storage space for the likes of Carnival and the Grand Bahama International Airport consortium.

The Del Zottos and GBPA traded accusations and counter-accusations for most of last summer. The family branded Freeport’s quasi-governmental authority as “the leaders of the most grossly underperforming island in The Bahamas”, and said they had shown “blatant disregard for the growth of this island”.

Gold Rock and its principals alleged that they were victims of “continued harassment” by the GBPA - without explaining why - and asserted that they would “not be cornered, pushed or strong-armed” in negotiations with its affiliates for a new aggregate supply contract.

That refers to the spark for the dispute, namely talks with the Grand Bahama Development Company (DevCO) for a new agreement over Gold Rock’s access to aggregate/fill in its Devonshire subdivision that was critical for its ready mix, block and pre-cast concrete products. DevCO, though, has argued that Gold Rock’s continued monopoly over this source cannot be justified because it had under-performed the previous contract by not taking the stipulated tonnage.

The GBPA, whose Port Group Ltd affiliate holds a 50 percent ownership interest in DevCo, then launched a counter-offensive against what it branded as “false” and “salacious” statements by the Del Zottos, who it accused of “mud slinging” and failing to give “the real facts”.

Freeport’s quasi-governmental authority, which is owned 50/50 by the Hayward and St George families, frequently sought to distance itself from the aggregate negotiations involving DevCO, whose other shareholder is Hutchison Whampoa, which has Board and management control.

However, it tacitly admitted its standing with the Grand Bahama public is low, arguing that Gold Rock and the Del Zottos were “hoping to take advantage of what they believe to be an unfavourable public sentiment against the GBPA” by directing their fire against it and thus distracting from the DevCo talks.

The GBPA, though, accused the Del Zottos of being “motivated by nothing but spite” in deciding to close the Home Design Centre and Do It Centre as well, and thereby exiting all their Freeport investments, even though these two entities were not impacted by the aggregate supply talks. It added that the move “will cost yet more hardworking families their livelihoods and further shrink the options available to consumers in a struggling economy”.