The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE government plans to complete the termination of all 279 Grand Lucayan staff by next week February 27, it has been revealed, as efforts to complete the resort’s $120m sale to Concord Wilshire head into what is likely to be the final stages.

Julian Russell, chairman of Lucayan Renewal Holdings, the Government-owned special purpose vehicle (SPV) that holds the Grand Bahama-based resort, informed Obie Ferguson KC, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) president, of the intent to pay all workers their due severance pay, other benefits and entitlements under their relevant industrial agreements by month’s end.

The letter, addressed to Mr Ferguson in his capacity as head of the Bahamas Hotel Managerial Association (BHMA), which represents 94 Grand Lucayan middle managers, was dated February 13, 2026. “As you are aware, the Government of The Bahamas has entered into an agreement to sell the Grand Lucayan Resort to Concord Wilshire Group and, as such, we write to inform you of the pending redundancy of all employees, including members of the Bahamas Hotel Managerial Association,” Mr Russell said.

“Please be advised that all staff will receive payment under Section 26A of the Employment (Amendment) Act 2017 and contractual agreement entitlements upon completion of this exercise. The redundancy exercise will be completed by February 27, 2026.

“Further, we advise that the number of employees to be made redundant is 279, which includes 94 of your members. The breakdown of union members is 53 full-time managerial staff and 41 contractual managerial staff.”

High-placed government sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, yesterday confirmed that the February 27, 2026, deadline for completing the redundancy and termination exercise is accurate.

Some Grand Lucayan staff members, though, yesterday appeared unaware of the payout and severance date, only telling Tribune Business they had heard “rumours” they may be paid what was due to them on or before March 13, 2026. Philip Davis KC, in addressing last week’s Grand Bahama Business Outlook, said the Bahamas Investment Authority, Ministry of Finance, Department of Labour and the Office of the Attorney General had been working to settle the combined $17m owed to the resort’s employees and vendors “in a way that honours legal entitlements and protects public funds”.

The confirmed termination deadline may provide Grand Lucayan staff with some certainty as to their fate, and its timing, giving that they have twice gone five weeks without receiving due salaries and other benefits during late 2025 and again in early 2026. And the move may also signal that the Government may, finally, be getting closer to sealing the Grand Lucayan’s sale via the deal with Concord Wilshire.

Tribune Business understands that the Miami-headquartered developer and its partners are in the final stages of what they hope is agreement on the reconfiguration of the Grand Lucayan so that everybody’s plans and needs are accommodated.

Concord Wilshire has always signalled that it will function as a master developer, entering into contracts with different operating partners to manage and run separate parts of its project. Tribune Business understands that, provided a mutually satisfactory agreement is reached, two of its partners will be Disney Cruise Lines and Mediterranean Shipping Company’s (MSC) cruise arm - both operating their own amenities, thought to be water-based adventure parks catering to their respective passengers.

A Hilton-branded hotel will act as the revived Grand Lucayan’s anchor, while Tribune Business has previously reported that renowned Australian golfer, Greg Norman’s, company was being tapped to manage the upgraded golf courses. Other brand and operating partners will be hired to oversee assets such as the different hotels, the casino and marina.

Pinning down these components likely requires significant time and legal resources from both Concord Wilshire and the Government, which may have been a factor behind the drawn-out wait to close the Grand Lucayan’s sale that has frustrated resort staff as well as many residents and businesses on Grand Bahama.

Tribune Business previously reported that the conveyances, transferring title and ownership of the Grand Lucayan from the Government’s special purpose vehicle (SPV), Lucayan Renewal Holdings, to Concord Wilshire’s own Bahamian-domiciled entity, were completed prior to the much-touted Heads of Agreement signing in May 2025.

It is also thought that the resort’s acquisition has been structured as a so-called “take-down purchase”, meaning the $120m sales price will be paid in installments by Concord Wilshire. As the developer demolishes each new part of the existing Grand Lucayan, a new portion of the purchase price will be paid to the Government. The $120m has not been paid yet, while the transition and hand-over to the developer has been a protracted affair.

This newspaper understands that there has been some reluctance by the Government to grant all the tax breaks and other investment incentives that the buyer is seeking. Concord Wilshire is thought to be arguing that it needs significant concessions given that it is trying to revive a stopover tourism market that sources say is “100 percent dead”, but the Government’s concern is understood to be that it would have to give the same tax breaks to other major investors such as Atlantis and Baha Mar, which have “most favoured nation” clauses in their own Heads of Agreement that state they are to be treated no less favourably than other resort investors.

“I understand the frustration. For years, that property has been shorthand for drift,” said Mr Davis at the Grand Bahama Business Outlook. “In May 2025, a Heads of Agreement was signed with the Concord Wilshire group. Since then, government and developer have been working to secure the right branding partners and to remediate serious mould issues that could have compromised the entire transaction….

“I will not pretend this has been easy. It has not. Our aim is a functioning, viable resort that creates jobs and confidence. You deserve both: Honesty and delivery. You will get both.”

The Government budgeted no funding for the Grand Lucayan in the 2025-2026 Budget, seemingly in anticipation of the Concord Wilshire deal closing prior to the fiscal year’s start which, together with the Public Treasury’s tight cash flows, might explain the recent staff payment difficulties.

The Government is thought to have been subsidising the Grand Lucayan’s operations by between $1.2m to $1.5m per month ever since it acquired the resort from CK Property Holdings, Hutchison Whampoa’s real estate arm, seven-and-a-half years ago. Some $17.882m was used for this purpose during the 2022-2023 Budget year and, during the first nine months of the following fiscal period, $16.632m out of the $17m allocated was spent on subsidising the Grand Lucayan.

A further $17m was estimated for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, with some $15.888m already spent during the nine months to end-March 2025. This pace placed the resort on track to require a $21m-plus subsidy for the full 2024-2025 fiscal year, meaning it would overshoot its Budget allocation by $4m.