The prime minister of Barbados, David Thompson, has stepped in to help save a luxury real estate project that has faltered owing to the global slowdown. Several high profile investors have paid deposits on villas in the development which cost up to $30m (£18m) each. X factors Simon Cowell and Andrew Lloyd Webber are said to be on the impressive list of investors who have put their trust in the British developer and hotelier Mike Pemberton and Robin Paterson.
The development is called Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residence and was under construction by Pemberton & Patersons property development company Cinnamon 88
Work stopped on the project in February and there is no sign of work restarting imminently. Scaffolding stood rusting on the construction site of unfinished roofs and unglazed windows of the beach-front homes that have been earmarked for the super rich.
PM Thompson is understood to have held meetings with frustrated investors in the scheme on a recent official visit to London, where he attended the World Travel Market trade fair. He tried to assure them that one of the largest development projects in Barbados is not in danger of collapse
The government spokes person Natasha King spoke about the PM intervention “He has had discussions with those involved and he has tried to chart a way forward. Obviously, this is a project the government of Barbados would like to see come to fruition. We are hopeful things will turn around.”
Simon Cowell is said to have been kept informed of progress and is quietly confident it is going to be sorted out.
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