The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Grand Lucayan’s electricity supply has been turned off for a second time, Tribune Business can reveal, with the resort now lacking both power and water due to unpaid billing arrears amid the wait for its sale to close.

Well-placed sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, yesterday disclosed that Grand Bahama Power Company has disconnected electricity supply to the entire resort campus last Thursday. This has plunged it into darkness - especially at night - and exposed it to break-ins and theft.

Concord Wilshire, the Miami-based developer, has also missed its previous self-declared deadline to give a public update on the construction/demolition schedule and post-acquisition plans for the resort. This was supposed to have been revealed around one to two weeks ago, and little has been heard since, although sources familiar with the transaction with the Government yesterday suggested the deal had reached the point of completion.

Sceptics have increasingly begun to suggest that the Government is simply stringing it out, and keeping the Concord Wilshire deal alive, for election purposes and will then switch to alternatives if the Davis administration is re-elected to office. Both Phylicia Hanna-Woods, the Government’s investments director, and Latrae Rahming, the Prime Minister’s communications director, did not reply to Tribune Business messages seeking comment on the Grand Lucayan situation before press time last night.

However, this newspaper was told that Concord Wilshire executives have been absent from the Grand Lucayan property for “almost two weeks”. It is understood that, up until then, they had been a fairly regular presence as the developer sought to determine whether, for instance, the long-closed Breaker’s Cay property should be torn down or if parts could be saved, and whether furniture, fixtures and equipment at the old Memories property should be auctioned off or given away.

“The only development is that the electricity is off,” one source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Tribune Business. “It was turned off last Thursday from the golf course all the way over to Lighthouse Point. There’s no power at all at the property. The Government has made a commitment to pay a monthly amount, and did not meet this commitment, so the power has all been turned off.”

This means the 20-strong “skeleton” staff remaining at the Grand Lucayan, following the recent termination and severance payouts made to most of its 279 staff, are having to work in conditions where there is no running water, light or power after both utility providers - the Grand Bahama Utility Company for water - effectively pulled the plug. Water supply has not been restored after being cut-off some two months ago for unpaid arrears.

“The staff are frightened, especially during the night hours,” one source familiar with the situation said. “No light, no water. The administrative people are working from home. During the night, which is the most critical time to secure the property, the security guards, 90 percent of whom are women, are frightened. Water has been off for two months now.

“It’s completely off. They was some semblance of water at the golf course and parking lot where the taxi stand used to be, and which was shared by the Grand Lucayan and Pelican Bay - there was a bathroom outside for the taxis. But in terms of the property itself, there’s absolutely no electricity, no water on the property at all from the golf course to Lighthouse Point. It’s a dire situation.”

Tribune Business previously reported that the Grand Lucayan owed some $17m in total payables and bills due to both Bahamian and international vendors and suppliers. Part of the reason the deal has taken so long to negotiate and close is that Concord Wilshire has been locked in talks with both Disney Cruise Line and Mediterranean Shipping Company’s (MSC) cruise arm about both companies using parts of the Grand Lucayan property for water-based adventure parks for their passengers.

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. 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.

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.

This newspaper was also told that Concord Wilshire had initially wanted to close the Grand Lucayan on September 19, 2025, to pave the way for demolition and construction activity to take place.

Executives from the prospective new owner communicated this to the resort’s management team one week earlier on September 12, and asked to meet with the rest of the workforce. However, although a staff meeting was arranged, this was aborted at the last minute after it became clear that - in the absence of the necessary government representatives - Concord Wilshire executives would be unable to answer numerous questions such as the issues relating to termination and severance pay.

And, while the Government was aware of the October 20th reservations halt, Tribune Business was told it moved too slowly in organising a human resources and financial team to start assessing what was due to Grand Lucayan workers in terms of severance pay, benefits and other outstanding sums ahead of the planned transition to Concord Wilshire.

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, six-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.