Sao Nicolau - Cape Verde Development

Sao Nicolau - Cape Verde Development

Have you invested in a hotel development with Cork based (although currently all out of the country) Cape Verde Development on Sao Nicolau island in the Cape Verde Islands (also known as San Nicolau)? The development is known as Monte Gordo. 

This project (pictured as it stood in 2006 - but it's not much different now) was allegedly purchased from a bankrupt developer - Sanilisa Empreendimentos S.A. It was to have a hotel added to the middle of the development to create the Hotel Monte Gordo Resort which would then be run by Extreme Hotels. The hotel was to be built between the rows of apartments, where a hole now stands (there is a foundation for something there at this stage, but that's as far as it ever got). In any case, the hotel never materialised and investors here are not one bit pleased as they feel this development was sold fraudulently.

If you were involved get in contact (info@overseascafe.com), as we would like to hear from you. We have received some information about this development which may be of use to investors involved in the project.

Note: There have been further developments relating to this project on which you will find some information here on the Monte Gordo Investors Group and here on Tom Sheehy of Cape Verde Development and court action that is in train. 

Deposit Recovery from Mediterrania Saidia

Deposit Recovery from Mediterrania Saidia

If you've invested in Fadesa Maroc's (now Excelia) Mediterrania Saidia development along the Mediterranean Morocco coastline then this may be of interest, particularly if you're looking to get your money back.

Diarmaid Condon, on his own website, has posted an article looking for investors in this development who are looking to recover their money.

It appears the development is very badly delayed and the quality of what is being built is a long way short of what was promised by the developer when it was being marketed.

You'll find the article here - http://bit.ly/okSCuU.

Private Syndicated Office Property Investment

This is a Commercial Promotion

Private Syndicated Office Property Investment

Medical Centre, Chemnitz, Germany (Purchase Closed May 2011, last remaining investment units being offered)

• Opportunity to acquire a significant equity stake in a large (54,500 sq ft) modern medical center well located in the thriving city of Chemnitz ( population 243,000). The rent roll is exceptionally well spread across 34 medical /commercial units and 7 apartments, with a diverse range of medical specialists and related tenants.

• Sourced off market via an insolvency where the asset is under the control of a receiver appointed by DKB Bank with whom we have a strong relationship from previous deals financed by them. We worked with the receiver and DKB over 6 months to secure the deal on attractive terms whereby the initial yield of 7.64% inclusive of acquisition costs is based on existing 84% occupancy rate .The investment is self –funding from Day 1 after all costs, with full capital repayment on attractive bank finance fixed for 4 years , non – recourse to investors .

• The yield can be significantly enhanced within the first year by letting any of the 5 commercial units and 3 apartments that are vacant. There are already tenants interested in some of the vacant units, and it is realistic that occupancy level could be brought up to 90% -95% within the first year thereby increasing rental yields to 8.2%- 8.7% quite quickly although we have assumed a much slower pick up . • The investment is €3.95M funded €2.7M by German non-recourse bank finance and €1.25M by Investor equity.

The objective is to raise the equity from private investors in amounts of €50,000 to €300,000 each. Pre-tax returns of 90% over 5 years, 127% over 7 years (over 18% pa) are forecast based on conservative assumptions as detailed further in the offer document, particularly no capital appreciation assumed. There is no cap on returns and there is real potential to bring occupancy to a high level quickly and to increase rent roll further which could increase returns yet further.

The purchase of the property has completed on MAY 19th 2011. Remaining investment units are now being offered.

The minimum investment is €50,000.

If you are looking for some up to date information on the German market take a look here.

For a full prospectus please send me an email on info@overseascafe.com.

Where to Invest - Germany

With all the doom and gloom around the place you'd be forgiven for thinking that there's nowhere left in the world in which it's worth investing. In fact, you'd be very far from the truth. Just because Irish investors don't have the deep pockets (and reckless banks) they once had, doesn't mean that there are not countries out there worth a look. We're going to look at one of them today. Germany. Here are a few highlights.

The German economy is performing exceptionally well with very exciting economic news in recent months. There are strong indications that the country is moving more and more centre stage as the main driver and, increasingly, perhaps the saviour of the Euro economy.

Germany is the world’s second largest exporter and its third largest economy, driven by a population of over 82m people. Recent economic news points to excellent economic fundamentals - which is more than can be said for a lot of European economies.

GDP growth of c 3.5% in 2010 was exceptionally positive , and the official forecast for 2011 was recently increased form 2.3% to 2.6% on the back of excellent data elsewhere.

German exports experienced their fastest growth rate in two decades during 2010 , with German trade surplus of €60.2 billion from Jan-May 2010. Compare this to the other 'powerhouses' of the European economy -France (-€20billion) and UK (-€40billion).

Business confidence measured by the German IFO index has climbed continuously over the past year from 95.9 in Jan 2010 to 110.3 in Jan 2011, another all time high in the 20 year period since re-unification. “The German economy has started the year with great vigour” (H-W Sinn , President IFO Institute Munich , 01/2011).

The German unemployment rate has fallen to 7.5% from 8.2% in 2009. This rate is forecast to drop further in 2011 to 7% with 300,000 new jobs anticipated. The number of Germans at work in 2012 is expected to reach an all-time high of 41 million . In the former East German states, including Saxony, unemployment is at the lowest rate since 1991. Germany is one of the few countries where unemployment in now lower than before the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

The German budget deficit is in control unlike other leading economies. The deficit is now forecast at 3.7% for 2010 reducing to 2.4% in 2011, well within the 3% EU target. The key German Markit purchasing managers survey shows that both services and manufacturing are performing strongly with the index at 61.0 , the 2nd highest reading on record “yet another signal that Germany’s economy is pulling away from most of its Eurozone competitors” (Irish Times 24/01/11).

“There are encouraging signs that domestic demand is beginning to emerge as a source of additional growth in the German economy.” ( Equinet Bank , Frankfurt 10/01/2011)

So where can you get a bit of Germany? We'll be posting here with some info in the near future.

Ciaran Maguire Group takes over Praia de Cabral Resort

We've had further communication from Ciaran Maguire relating to the Palm View Resort development on Boa Vista in Cape Verde. It has once again become a topic of some interest, principally because of the adverts being run by the group on TV3 at the moment - see here.

First Email:

"I am writing to you regarding your blogs on the overseas café I see from your posts that you have not made any comments recently. Since your last posts there have been huge changes with the development and a lot has been turned around. I am not asking you to take anything down but someone in your field should be conveying a balanced view on the status of Palm View in Cape Verde. The fact remains and you can check this by independent lawyers and lawyers representing the clients that we are on schedule for completion in December 2011. In November this year we open our new reservations centre in Dublin creating 27 new positions, this is surely news that is worth publishing instead of the doom and gloom we are constantly bombarded with on the news.

With the progress been made with Palm View it has allowed us to work with all Palm View clients including cancelled clients to ensure that their investment comes to fruition. I have dozens of pictures from site, land title documents, planning permission documentation etc but you still harbor the outdated negative story. I will forward on Pictures from site so you can see the progress, or feel free to check the company blog pages for updates.

http://www.ciaranmaguireblog.com.

We have turned things around and would request at least a balanced reflection on Palm View. I trust you understand my point of view. I simply ask that the information being hosted is updated to reflect the current state of affairs.

I have attached relevant documentation as to ensure a fair reflection.

As has been mentioned to you before in various emails from Ciarán himself, we welcome any calls to our office for further information.

Regards,

Colm Quinn

Sales Manager."

Note: Two attachments were received, which appear to be a title document and planning permission for the Praia de Cabral Resort. We're not experts on legal documentation in Cape Verde, but they look genuine. If anybody wishes to see them just email us at info@overseascafe.com and we'll send on a copy.

Reply:

Ciaran / Colm,

Many thanks for the information you sent last week. We are looking for you to clarify a few points detailed below.

Firstly the title deed appears to be for Praia de Cabral Resort, whoever owns that, but there's nothing anywhere to state that it's owned by Ciaran or CMG.

Secondly, everything is dated 2006, which was before CMG even existed, so it is presumably the planning consent for Praia de Cabral Resort as well, with the same query as above.

It's all in Portuguese obviously so we have no idea what it says specifically, a translation would be great ideally.

The main question is obviously what is the relationship between the Praia de Cabral Resort, Ciaran Maguire Group and Palm View Resort?

We look forward to hearing from you.

The OC Team.

CMG Reply:

I can confirm that Ciaran Maguire Group has acquired the shares of Praia de Cabral Resorts. An agreement was signed, final quarter of last year. The company PCR has full title and full planning but had stopped works 18 months ago due to the lack of sales and economic climate.

The Ciaran Maguire Group were constantly enduring frustrations in its previous locations, we had been given assurances from SDTIBM of certain infrastructure works being implemented on site as to allow us to make real progress with construction on site. The infrastructure works were delayed on 3 separate occasions and although Palm View Resort had outline planning permission for the site in Chaves, it required full detailed planning to release our credit facility, this was another instance were we experienced delays from SDTIBM despite being given the relevant assurances at contract stage.

Cape Verde is a beautiful country and ultimately the investors in Palm View will reap their rewards but as someone who has the responsibility to ensure their investment matures, it is very difficult to do business in Cape Verde as the islands are still at an infancy stage. Having evaluated the situation and after several high level meetings with the primary objective to ensure Palm View clients got their apartments this year, I took the decision to, for the time being to park the project in Chaves and move ahead with the share acquisition of PCR. I have since held events in Dublin, London and Manchester and met with all of my Palm View investors to inform them of the decision.

I can say that the Palm View clients were very excited that their apartments will be ready this coming December and have successfully migrated the clients onto the new scheme. I informed the clients and supported it with relevant documentation to outline that although the previous scheme was Creola Sands, the new scheme has been completely redesigned to replicate the previous Palm View and we are currently in the process of adding to the existing structure that exists. It is also important to highlight that there is a new B.O.Q in place and the specifications for the new Palm View are exactly the same.

I have also structured a new finance package for Palm View that offers 100% finance with No money down. It's the first of its type available in the current market. I am also very proud to say that we will opening a new reservations centre for Palm View in City West in November and will be creating 27 new positions.

At this stage, I am in a position of "your damned if you do and your damned if you don't" I just want to get on now and build Palm View, I now see that Diarmaid (Condon) is ensuring that old news does not go away by providing anyone who is interested with the links of the blogs that harbor outdated information. There are 4 or 5 new blogs that say very positive things about Palm View but needless to say there not mentioned.

I am not going to get involved in any mudslinging as my only objective now is to just get on and complete Palm View by December, but journalists and editors have to take a level of responsibility for the country being in this situation but the real concern is that with the negative attitude of our journalists and how they are reporting I believe it will ensure that this Country takes a lot longer to get out of this situation than it actually should.

As an entrepreneur based in Dublin, I can tell you my biggest obstacle is the Irish press. I have the finance, I have full title, full planning, I have the clients and yet my biggest obstacle is being allowed to just get on with things with certain people wanting to ensure that its not ok to come through a difficult period and be successful, I think that there is something really wrong with that picture and our entrepreneurs in this Country will probably never go on to realize their full potential due to the nature of the reporting carried out in this country, It is sad, but there you go.

I have attached a standard purchase contract for your perusal. We unfortunately don't have translations but all clients lawyers who have carried out their due diligence will verify that everything is in place.

Regards

Ciarán Maguire

Chairman & President

CastleBaggot House,

Baldonnell,

Dublin 22.

Ph: +353 1 6251544

web: www.ciaranmaguiregroup.com

www.palmview.ie

End of Communication.

Note: The purchase contract for Praia de Cabral Resorts mentioned above was received. Again, if you wish to see a copy just email us at info@overseascafe.com and we'll send on a copy, or you can contact CMG directly.

We're taking Ciaran at his word that his company owns the site in question and is building on it. Photos received would seem to indicate that there is work in progress, but we've not seen proof that CMG does, in fact, own the development apart from the fact that the contract states that it is for Palm View Resort but is being sold on a contract for Praia de Cabral Resorts which is presumably due to the aforementioned purchase of the shares in the resort.

Maguire Claims to be Moving Forward

Mr. Maguire is back in the news again following claims in a Cape Verdean newspaper, Expresso das ilhas, that his Palm View Resort is now to be constructed on the site of another unfinished development. Courtesy of the BoaVista Forum the following rough translation of the newspaper article was offered:

"The Irish group Ciaran Maguire launched on the morning of Thursday, 24, in Boa Vista, the first stone for the construction of an apartment complex with 238 luxury apartments, casino, thalassotherapy center and restaurants.

The initial investment Palm View Resort is 25 million and, according to prosecutors, all the apartments are already sold to Europeans, especially English and Irish. "The hotel, the restaurants will be complete later this year, and the other blocks will be complete next year," he told Radio in Cape Verde Ciaran Maguire, chairman of the Group.

Palm View Resort is a luxurious beachfront resort, which initially will have three hundred employees. The project includes a seven-star boutique hotel, nine swimming pools, four restaurants, beach bars, bar, nightclub, tennis courts, soccer fields, outdoor theater, fully equipped gym and a health spa luxury and beauty. The design of the Palm View Resort Ciaran Maguire Group will be born in Praia Cabral, the former complex Sabi sands, FM Group, which went bust just over two years.

In Cabral Beach Ciaran Maguire group wants to invest in the area surrounding Palm View Resort, rehabilitating the area and build a function room, a high school level and creating pedestrian promenade, with shops selling local handicrafts.

It is recalled that in 2008, Ciaran Maguire organized a tour of the island of Boa Vista, and has taken him about 160 people, some of which would become investors in the transaction. But due to delays and uncertainty in implementing the project, some eventually require replacement funding.

The idea had been thought initially to Praia and then was transferred to Boa Vista."

The original article in Portuguese is here - http://www.expressodasilhas.sapo.cv/pt/noticias/detail/id/23822

The BoaVista Facebook page is, however, quite adamant that much of the information in this article is false and misleading. It says:

"The name "Palm View Resort" has again reared its head in relation to Boa Vista. This "Newspaper" article is riddled with the same old promises and has glaring inaccuracies. I have written to the newspaper and asked them to review this story in light of the damage that it will do to their credibility."

See: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boa-Vista-Cape-Verde/327949432900

Ciaran Maguire Responds

It's a miracle, Ciaran Maguire eventually, after almost a year of email silence, has sent us an email. Naturally it's one of complaint, but at least it's a communication of some sort. You might want to have a coffee to get you through this lot.

Start of communication:

I wouldn’t normally waste my time on negative sources however I thought I would maybe give you some advice. I understand from someone in my sales office that you and the other minority of narrow minded negative people have again made comments regarding me presenting a video. I have to say that the out takes were simply an extra to the video and simply shows that you shouldn’t always take things too seriously and if it puts a smile on someone’s face in difficult times than that’s a bonus. The videos have received a very positive review from people who matter to me, Palm View clients etc. It has also helped drive people to the actual corporate video and subsequently create more sales.

The fact is, we have full finance and are on schedule to have the first 129 apartments and Hotel ready by end of October this year. I have structured an unrivalled finance package for Palm View clients that ensures they don’t have to put any more money down, We have arranges a 70% mortgage and I am giving them a 30% developer loan, this information along with proof of funds for construction, full land title and planning permission is available to anyone who wants to come out of hiding behind their computers. I have put my hand up and said that mistakes were made along the way but no ones perfect, I have rectified them and ensured my clients investment comes to fruition. Look at my competitors in Cape Verde……….there all gone, Palm View is the only development that construction is on going, everyone else has stopped works, CMG are primed to stand alone in the Cape Verde market, an Irish company creating jobs in Ireland and abroad and you continue with the cheap shots. You should be ashamed of yourself.

I have met with over a hundred and twenty Palm View clients over the last few weeks, they understand the frustrations but are now very happy with the recent progress and we have now closed over €16,000,000 value of sales since the turn of the year.

I have delivered for my clients and despite all the negative issues you people have tried to create, you have failed. Watch this space, your going to start running out of negative things to comment on as we are quite simply building Palm View. Ciaran Maguire Group is one of a very few success stories and your negative attitude clearly epitomize why our great little country is in this situation. This country has a lot of talented and skilled potential entrepreneurs however people like yourself and your negative minded colleagues continue to target any one who dares to be successful instead of giving them a platform.

My advice is simple, you should try being more positive, you have tried and failed to create a negative situation for me, I have no doubt you will try a few more cheap shots “OMG instead of CMG” when really if you had of taken up my request of a sit down meeting, you could have all this information on file and could of indeed been an advocate for the resort. Sadly there are people out there who are negative by nature and will be years behind the positive minded people in terms of getting through difficult times and you just happen to be one of those people.

Please don’t reply, I don’t want any negative crap coming to my email, but do yourself a favor and lighten up and remember the glass is not always half empty!!

They say success has many enemies and I think your and your narrow minded negative thinking friends are testament to this.

Needless to say, don’t expect an invite to the opening of Palm View in October.

Good luck and God Bless.

Regards

Ciarán Maguire

Chairman & President

CastleBaggot House,

Baldonnell,

Dublin 22.

Ph: +353 1 6251542

Ph: +353 1 6251544

web: www.ciaranmaguiregroup.com

www.palmview.ie

So we replied:

Dear Ciaran,

if you are, indeed, going to have Palm View Resort completed by October of this year I would imagine that you have all the infrastructure work at the site completed and that all foundations are now in place. A few pictures of this development would go a long way toward dispelling the naysayers who disparage your development.

Those who doubt you do so simply because you've shown no proof of a track record in the industry, no evidence of financing, your company which took deposits from clients is currently bankrupt and the liquidator has said publicly that you've removed all the clients funds for your own use. You seem more interested in posting weird videos on the web than you do in actually building the development for which you have taken people's life savings.

Positivity is one thing, deranged lunacy is another entirely. In case you've forgotten, you promised to have the development completed by October 2010 as well and to date you've managed to put a few loads of trunking onto a site in God knows where. While you're at it, could you send on pictures of the social housing project you completed in CV last year.

We've bent over backwards to facilitate you in proving that you have any hope of completing this development, or even getting it started, and you've failed miserably at every single turn.

Best regards,

OC.

To add to the miracle, Ciaran again replied:

You have just proved my point. You pick up on one point, the video and embellish it and turn it into a negative. By your latest email it is clear you have not done your homework. If your going to mudsling than at least do your homework. We are well and truly under way with the full shell and core "built" on block A and F. The Palm View clients who have invested their hard earned cash with me have been kept updated and are very happy. I have met with the majority of them in the UK over the last couple of weeks. The pictures of the meetings and the site works are there for all to see.

You keep mentioning track record. The people with track records are gone bust in Cape Verde and indeed this is the case around the globe leaving a vacuum for new companies with new strategies and innovative mind sets which I believe my company fits that mould.

You speak of delays, after all the issues we have had we are only 12 months behind schedule, in development terns in the current market place that is still an achievement.

You should really go and do your Due Diligence, We are well advanced in construction and KPMG have been furnished information that contradicts what they had suggested. They never said it as fact it was a suggestion which has now been disregarded since they reviewed the full case.

"Bent over backwards" that's a laugh, you were negative about me and my project from the moment we launched again mentioning we never heard of this guy before and discrediting my family business.

You may speak with any Palm View client to see how they feel which is more important to me than anyone else. Opinions are the cheapest commodity on earth and you make your living giving yours but if you are going to make opinions, please do your homework.

I trust all is well with you and your colleagues in negative town.

Good Luck and God bless

Regards

Ciarán Maguire

So we felt we should, again, state our case (hang in there, a little more coffee and you'll make it):

Dear Ciaran,

We've scoured your websites for evidence that you own or have built anything in Cape Verde and can find none. There are some interesting pictures of you walking around the abandoned Creola Sands development, but nothing else.

We have never (nor has anyone else as far as I'm aware) seen any proof that you have funding of any description to complete a development you estimate to be worth anything from €100 million to €2.2 billion depending on which of your Press Releases is to be believed.

To our knowledge KPMG has never issued a statement exonerating you from your obligations to your clients on the basis that you had their best interests at heart when you removed funds from Flash Developments. If you have one we'd love to see it.

We've never been negative about your development, we've been realistic - there is a distinct difference. There are certain criteria that need to be met to build a successful resort development including land ownership, planning, funding and a team that has experience in creating and marketing such a development. To date you've not been able to prove that you meet any of these criteria, hence our understandable scepticism.

Building a resort development takes a lot more than simply telling everybody to be positive and posting a few quirky videos on your website.

Some proof is all we've ever asked from you right from the off and we've never received it. It is the least your investors deserve.

For the sake of these investors we very much hope this development will become a reality but your actions to date suggest that it will not.

Best regards,

OC.

End of email tennis session.

This last one seems to have hit a nerve somewhere along the way as the email silence was renewed almost as quickly as it had been broken. It appears young Ciarán thought everybody would fall for the switch of the now abandoned Creola Sands development in the pictures (readily available on his blog here) in which he stuck his flags for a few weeks, and take it as verification of his assertion that he has actually started work on the Palm View Resort. From reports received from those on the ground on Boa Vista it appears that there is currently no activity on the suggested Palm View site (which CMG has yet to prove it actually owns).

Ciaran Maguire Claims He Gave Deposits Back

OK, latest installment on the weirdness that is the CMG and Flash Developments story courtesy of the Sunday Business Post.

Mr. Maguire claims he's given the deposits back to the agency selling the property but it was never passed back to the investors - Anthony Joyce (solicitor) says there is no evidence to suggest that he did any such thing. Joyce also says most of the money was paid directly to Flash Developments, which Maguire denies.

KPMG (Flash Liquidators) also claim that Maguire has no title in CV, which he denies vehemently - but still appears incapable of producing documentation to prove ownership. Very strange stuff.

Note, there are no claims of this being a €1.8 billion Resort anymore.

http://www.sbpost.ie/news/ireland/maguire-claiming-to-have-repaid-cape-verde-investors-52447.html

Dublin-based businessman Ciarán Maguire, who is being sued by a group of investors in a €100 million resort in Cape Verde, has claimed that he refunded their deposits to the sales agency but that the money has not been passed on to the investors.

Maguire told The Sunday Business Post that he had been in discussions with Dublin solicitor Anthony Joyce, who is representing the group who have lodged a class action in the High Court against Maguire and his company, the Ciaran Maguire Group.

They are seeking immediate repayment of their deposits. Maguire claims that the investors represented by Joyce bought through a sales agency and not through him or his companies.

‘‘I refunded the agency. Now, unfortunately, that was never recycled back," said Maguire.

‘‘I’ve a very, very clear paper trail to show I’ve actually paid the agency back."

However, Joyce said the case would be proceeding until all monies were repayed to his clients.

He said that ‘‘a number of clients had paid small deposits to an agency, but they paid the remaining monies to Flash Developments’’, another company controlled by Maguire.

‘‘We’ve seen no paperwork to suggest Maguire had refunded any money to the agency," said Joyce.

Flash Developments collapsed into liquidation last May, and the High Court ordered an investigation into the company, after evidence emerged that it had used deposits from buyers to finance the running of the firm.

Court documents also include claims that the company did not have title to land in Cape Verde, but Maguire continues to claim that he has title to the land.

‘‘I’ve subsequently been liaising with KPMG, and they are now happy that Ciaran Maguire Group does have the contracts in place with the Cape Verde government and does have the relevant title on the land in Boa Vista," he told The Sunday Business Post.

But liquidator Kieran Wallace of KMPG said that this was not the case. ‘‘We have no evidence whatsoever to date that Maguire has title on any land in Cape Verde," Wallace told this newspaper.

‘‘We understand that he put a lot of money down on two plots of land through Flash Developments and never got title.

There’s no paperwork to show title on any land.

We’ve seen no proof that he’s repaid any monies."

However, Maguire insists that the Ciaran Maguire Group is continuing to build the Palm View development of 400 apartments and villas on the island of Boa Vista. He said that construction on the 111-acre plot had begun, and that completions were expected by December 2011.

According to Maguire, 300 units have been sold off the plans in the first phase of the scheme, with prices ranging from €50,000 up to €865,000.

'Get Your Money Back' Seminar to be held in Dublin

The Spanish Property Action Group and Bulgarian Property Action Group have formed an alliance to host the 'Get Your Money Back' seminars. The first of these seminars is to be held at the Rathcoole Suite, Citywest Hotel in Dublin on the 2nd of October 2010.

These seminars are aimed at the thousands of Irish and British property investors who invested in off-plan property in Spain and Bulgaria and are now desperately trying to reclaim their money due to the failure of developers to deliver the finished developments.

Many property developments in Spain and Bulgaria have not been completed, some without water and electricity, some are half built and others were never started. The developers and banks involved have continually refused any requests to fulfill contractual obligations and where deposits have successfully been recovered, this has taken some years. In some cases, this has led to extreme hardship. People have lost their life savings or retirement funds and are all victims of the illegal activities of unscrupulous developers and the lawyers representing them.

Those involved with the Action Groups know how to recover funds because they have already done it successfully and know the pitfalls to avoid. The Action Groups are now in a position to offer a realistic, low entry cost service as well as sound, proven advice to those in similar positions.


For more information, contact:

www.spanishpropertyactiongroup.com

www.bulgaria-property-action-group.com

Sell Your Bulgarian Property

Bulgaria has got some very bad press since it first aspired to being the darling of the overseas property industry from 2004 to 2006. As with all such situations, some of the negative press is deserved and some of it is not. There is no doubt the country got caught at just the wrong time in a huge property bubble that swept much of Europe and has caused untold misery in property markets, most notably across several of the former Soviet states. If it were a few years earlier to the party a lot of the property in the process of being built around a variety of resorts in Bulgaria would have been finished, supplying the bedrock of completed developments on which a second-hand property industry could base itself. If it hadn’t started until a few years later the country may well have saved itself and a raft of overseas property investors a lot of pain.

It is important to note that not all property stories emanating from Bulgaria are negative. Outside of the beach and ski resorts there have been some surprisingly favourable reports. While there are certainly some developments that will never be completed because there simply aren’t the funds or the demand to do so, there are many completed developments and significant numbers nearing completion. The uncompleted developments will undoubtedly gain most of the press coverage which will have a negative impact on the property industry in Bulgaria for many years to come. In the resort areas in particular there will be the scarring of half-finished developments, much like what happened in Spain during the eighties and something that is being repeated there today. Indeed we have our own blight of incomplete developments here in Ireland, the big difference is that they are not all located in a few areas which makes them substantially less obvious.

As part of the positive story in Bulgaria, Tom Fingleton of Buyinbulgaria, one of the longest standing and most successful Irish property companies involved in the Bulgarian market, says he and his company have been quite successful reselling a number of its own clients’ apartments in Sofia over the past two years. The buyers are exclusively Bulgarian, and will pay current market prices rather than the inflated prices that may have been paid when these properties were first purchased.

Average apartment prices across Sofia in the past year have worked out in the €800-900 per sq m for finished or unfinished apartments. This is, unfortunately, a long way short of the €1,400 to €1,800 per sq m paid by a lot of Irish investors at the peak of the boom. It is a market, nevertheless, for those who have to get an exit at any price. Fingleton claims it could be argued the market was never above €1,000 per sq. meter but there is no doubt property was sold well above this level.

The company uses its own office in Sofia to sell units through a selection of smaller local agents in Sofia. Fingleton says the company now has a lack of product so it is looking for properties it can promote. Only a small number of units are managed at any one time to ensure personalised service. There are, he says, never more than 10 properties on their books at any one time.

For further information contact 01-254-4155 or visit www.buyinbulgaria.com.

CMG Fails To Answer Legal Questions

I know, the post title is pretty familiar at this stage, but this is a very different set of questions being asked by some serious people - Justice Finlay Geoghegan in the High Court to be specific. These questions have been thrown up by the liquidation of Flash Developments, which had been holding the contracts and money of investors in the Palm View Resort in Boa Vista, Cape Verde.

In a piece in the Sunday Business Post on June 27th Ian Kehoe claimed that the "High Court has ordered an investigation into property company Flash Developments, after evidence emerged that the company may have used deposits from buyers to finance the running of the firm."

It went on to claim: "It has also emerged in court documents that the company, which is headed by businessman Ciaran Maguire, may not have title over land in Cape Verde, where it had proposed to build a €100 million property scheme."

It also claimed: "documents filed last week by the liquidator, KPMG accountant Kieran Wallace, said that Flash appeared 'to have financed the general running of the company' from the deposits it received, rather than place them on secure deposit. "

The Insolvency Journal had the following on June 23rd: "The High Court also heard on Monday that the liquidator of Flash Developments Ltd, Kieran Wallace, is pursuing an investigation into representations made on behalf of the company which appear to suggest that the company may have taken deposits for villas and apartments when it didn't have the authority to do so.

The firm, controlled by businessman Ciaran Maguire, was placed into liquidation in May following a court petition by international recruitment firm Hays.

Flash Developments had received deposits from 200 Irish and British investors for properties in a proposed €100 million resort on Cape Verde. But speaking to the Sunday Business Post last month, Magure insisted that all of the deposits were safe, despite the wind-up of the firm, because all contracts, development lands and credit lines had been transferred to another company – the Ciaran Maguire Group."

These are very, very serious claims of fraudulent activity and we didn't feel it was right to put such claims on the blog, even though the claims weren't ours, without asking Ciaran for a comment on them. In fairness, he's been fairly forthcoming in the recent past, answering most of the queries we've put to him. So we did just that - and didn't get an answer. Instead his office responded to say he was in Cape Verde and would like to be given a chance to respond on his return.

So we waited, and waited, and waited. Still nothing.

Eventually, on July 13th Ciaran came back to us with the following: "I have just returned from Cape Verde and can confirm that building works are on going and I will furnish you with the updated pictures tomorrow. I can also confirm that the claims from Kieran Wallace are absolutely false and I am very much looking forward to outlining all the actual facts. I would also like to highlight that Kieran Wallace has no involvements in Ciaran Maguire Group and therefore has never seen any documentation in the Ciaran Maguire Group including contracts thus making these claims unfounded."

So we waited for the follow-up - but it never came. In fact, Ciaran has stopped responding to our emails completely for some reason so we've had to put up the post without further input from him.

Today (July 20th) the following appeared on the Boa Vista Experience Forum from the user CMG:

Dear all,

I would like to convey that under the advice from my legal team, I will no longer be in a position to post comments on this forum. Despite several requests to sit down with interested parties in both my office in Dublin and including making myself available to fly to the U.K. to meet with any interested parties, I have not received one offer. I have made it categorically clear that I was happy to answer all questions put to me.

Sitting down and having a face to face meeting would have given me the opportunity to outline and display the facts allowing me to furnish these parties with all the relevant documentation. I believe this would have allowed you to give a true reflection on Palm View Resort.

In light of the above my legal team have been working on logging and detailing all the posts made on this forum. It is now my intention to aggressively seek compensation for defamation and reputational damages. I would like to highlight to the careless bloggers on this forum that my legal team have now traced all the IP addresses and real names behind the identified bloggers and will be issuing the legal letters to the aforementioned.

The people on this forum who have made comments deemed to be defamatory please note; I intend to use these posts on this forum as evidence against you in a court of law.

In relation to the existing 200 plus clients and investors in Palm View; I would like to advise that my office will be furnishing you with updated pictures of on going works on site and general monthly updates. We are on schedule for completion in December 2011 and we can all look forward to seeing Palm View coming to fruition.

Regards,

Ciaran Maguire."

This follows a similar threat on the same forum on June 14th last. Following that post we were contacted by a number of posters on the forum who said Ciaran hadn't even got their country right in some cases.

This IP Address Tracking claim is a particularly strange one as most ISP's (Internet Service Providers such as Eircom and BT) these days provide clients with what is termed a 'Dynamic IP Address'. It is a system whereby IP Addresses are assigned randomly to clients as they are needed, rather than individual IP Addresses being assigned permanently, which is a very poor use of ISP resources. Consequently, most people's IP addresses change at least once every day and several times in most cases, depending on usage. This system makes tracking the IP Address beyond the region in which it is based (e.g. Dublin, Waterford, Cork, etc.) virtually impossible.

It is possible that those hosting the forum could trace the odd post back to a fixed IP Address (common in larger companies who have very heavy internet usage), but not very many of them. In the main they are, and will remain, totally anonymous.

Consequently, Ciaran's claim that he has the names of people posting on this, or any other forum, is absolutely bizarre.

In any case, we've always been very forthcoming with our interest in this particular development, Ciaran knows exactly who we are and the questions we've got. We've also tried to be fair to the developer and have given him every opportunity to put his side of the debate to the general public where possible. He simply seems to have decided not to do so in the last few weeks which is a great shame.

If Ciaran decides to change his mind on this matter and does email us with further information we'll be sure to put it on the blog post-haste.

Legal Firm Seeks Spanish Property Buyers

Many Irish buyers of property in Spain have run into trouble for one reason or another over the past few years. Unfortunately they've not had much reason to feel particularly cheerful as it is a very lonely place to be and there usually isn't anybody to whom you can go for support.

Well these buyers, depending on their circumstances, may well be interested to hear that there is one company in Spain that may be able to help out.

That company is the European Advisory Service.

The following is from the company's site:

"In recent years major problems have arisen in the property market through over-development, corrupt councils and the recession. The market has collapsed and along with it a huge amount of investors’ money. Some big names in the development world have gone bust and investors are trying desperately to claw back their money with few results so far.

The question at the moments is: what are the chances of getting money back from a developer who has gone bust? Surprisingly, the answer is: excellent – although it won’t happen over night.

How Can Purchasers Claim Their Money Back?

Spain is still very much a socialist country and the laws here are designed to help the man in the street over and above the interests of companies and individuals of power and means. Contracts in Spain usually favour the weaker party and this is the same in the world of property development.

Knowing that there are laws to protect you, however, is not enough. Being able to utilize them for your benefit is the key to success and for this you will need a good, experienced and independent lawyer. By independent we mean not associated in any way with the developer.

We are not associated with any developers and are happy to assess your case without obligation and completely free of charge. Although our lawyers are already representing many people who have lost a lot of money to developers every situation is different and we will help you as an individual and advise on your particular circumstances.

Contact us now for a consultation to see how we can get your money, plus interest, back to where it belongs – with you.

We are particularly keen to speak to people who have purchased through Aifos, McAnthony Realty, Polaris World and Promociones Eurohouse 2010 (Fortuna Hills etc)."

Feel free to visit the company's site and see if it can be of assistance to you.

Note: OverseasCafe.com has no connection with and stands to gain nothing from readers of this blog dealing with European Advisory Service. We also have no experience of the advice or support provided so cannot recommend it in any way.

Dubai Sports City CEO Resigns

We've learned from the new (and not fully operational yet according to the creators) TemptedBuy.com website that U. Balasubramaniam (often simply called Bala) has resigned as CEO of the Dubai Sports City complex in the United Arab Emirates.

The article reads as follows:

"The monster sports themed proposed development claims notoriety in Ireland as that with which the Concerned Dubai Sports City Investors’ Group, now more often referred to simply as the Dubai Action Group, has taken issue over up to €20m in deposits which the investors fear have now been lost.

These investors bought off-plan apartments through Ennis, Co. Clare based overseas property agent, Larionovo, which went into Liquidation in November 2008. The investors are worried that cash invested, which many hoped would fund their retirements, is now tied up in Dubai, possibly never to be seen again. A meeting of the group in Dublin’s Citywest Hotel late in 2009 heard that investors have no idea if building work has started on some apartments, such is the difficulty in getting information from some Dubai Sports City developers. Some had received letters telling them the project had been put ‘on hold’ but there were no offers to return deposits.

In an email sent to his colleagues and contacts Balasubramaniam said: “The time has come for me to move on to a new phase in my professional career after seven eventful years as the Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Sports City. Leaving is never easy and although it has been a tough decision to take, I am looking forward to taking some time off and pursuing other interests. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Dubai Sports City and am very grateful for the support that I have received from the Stakeholders, the company President, the Management and all the staff, who have been of great help to me in carrying out my job and its responsibilities.

It has been a pleasure to make associations and come to know you over the years and would like to personally thank you for your friendship and support in working together to progress this truly unique and great project.”

In an interview in April 2007, Balasubramaniam was quite bullish about the prospects of the Sports City developments finishing on time, since that time, however, there have been significant delays, in common with many other developments around the Emirate. While the global economic downturn took some time to take hold in the UAE, since striking it has proven to be extremely severe and prolonged.

On the latest Dubai Sports City update document, which was released in September ’09 the company claimed that completion had been reached on the Cricket Stadium, the Ernie Els Golf Course, the Butch Harmon School of Golf and the American Curriculum School. It also stated that the Victory Heights golf community had started to welcome residents, the Sports Acadamies Campus was nearing completion and that all roads, infrastructure and utilities were in place. Apart from Victory Heights no mention was made of the status of any other residential developments, which are numerous. A picture was included, however, of the Canal Residence West apartments, which appeared to be around 25% completed."

You can read the article on the TemptedBuy.com website here.

Sawgrass Marriott Golf - Chapter 11 Filing

This information is quite old, but these links may be useful for anyone looking for information on the Chapter 11 case of the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa in Florida - famous as the venue for Tiger Woods' public apology for his infidelities on Feb. 19th, 2010. It was owned by an Irish consortium, Redquartz Boundary Ltd., which purchased it at the height of the boom in 2006 and was forced into a Chapter 11 filing by its lenders, Goldman Sachs, on January 28th 2010.

The statement released by the Sawgrass Marriott at the time of the filing read as follows: “This action is in response to the current global economic environment and the fact that an agreement on a restructure with the lenders could not be reached. This process will protect the resort and allow us to continue to operate business as usual. We are firmly committed to maintaining our world-class operation and foresee no changes in the day-to-day operations at Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa.”

The story has been reported in a number of media outlets since the announcement last March, here are just a few:

Sunday Business Post:

Irish Investors in the Rough

Irish investors, including well-known names in the business world, could lose up to $90million they invested in the buyout of a hotel on the Sawgrass golf course in Florida. About 100 investors, mainly high-net worth individuals, were involved in the $220 million buyout of the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa at the height of the boom in July 2006. The investors include Philip Lynch, chief executive of investment firm On€51. More...

Irish Independent:

Florida Dream Resort's Value has Halved, say Irish Investors.

THE Irish owners of the Sawgrass Golf Resort and Spa believe the Florida property known for hosting Tiger Woods' February apology is worth less than half the $250m (€204m) they've ploughed into it.

The valuations emerged in a Jacksonville courtroom this week as Irish investors, including financier Niall McFadden, fended off an attempt to have the resort seized and sold. More...

Jacksonville Business Journal

Sawgrass Marriott Owners file for Chapter 11

The owners of the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa in Ponte Vedra Beach have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Public records show RQB Resort LP and RQB Development LP filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida yesterday, listing Goldman Sachs Group Inc. among its creditors and assets and debt of as much as $500 million each. More...

Sawgrass Marriott Case Summary

http://www.scribd.com/doc/28589679/RQB-Sawgrass-Marriott-Case-Summary

A little car parking space by the sea... a snip at just £60,000

The Daily Mail reports today that a single car parking space in a Cornish seaside town has been sold for nearly £60,000 - which was £20,000 over the asking price.

The small 20ft by 12ft plot of land was snapped up by a local resident who was determined to get the sought-after space in St Ives, Cornwall.

The cost of the space is three times the average annual salary in the town.

Estate agent Jonathan Payne who conducted the sealed bid auction said: 'I cannot remember one going for more money.

'Spaces are always in short supply in St Ives and even going back years, they made a premium price.'

He said there was a chronic lack of car parking space in the old part of the town.

The small plot of land is beside the entrance to the council-owned Island car park.

St Ives councillor and shop owner Colin Nicholls said it was a 'massive price', saying: 'I would rather do without a car than pay that kind of money.

'It is overpriced but that's how market forces operate.'

To view the full article click here.

Ryanair Introduces Optional Larger (20KG) Checked-In Bag Allowance

Ryanair has announced that passengers can now choose a larger (20kg) checked-in bag allowance for €/£25 as an alternative to Ryanair’s standard (15kg) checked-in bag allowance which costs €/£15. Passengers who require a second checked-in bag can purchase an additional 15kg allowance for €/£35 (via Manage my Booking).


Ryanair continues to encourage passengers to travel light, by snapping up one of Ryanair’s approved Samsonite carry-on bags when booking their low fares Ryanair flights, which will allow them to continue to save by travelling with Ryanair’s free 10kgs carry-on bag.

Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said:

“Ryanair continues to encourage passengers to travel light and save even more by leaving the checked-in bags at home and taking advantage of our 10kg free carry on allowance, and our great value Samsonite bag. However, passengers who do require checked-in luggage can now purchase a larger 20kg bag allowance for €/£25 or our standard 15kg bag from €/£15. Passengers can purchase our checked-in baggage allowances at the time of booking or subsequently through Manage My Booking on Ryanair.com.”

CHECKED-IN BAGGAGE		Online-Ryanair.com
		15kg bag	20kg bag
1st Bag		€15/£15	€25/£25
1st Bag - Peak -July & August		€20/£20	€30/£30
2nd Bag		€35/£35	n/a
2nd Bag - Peak -July & August		€40/£40	n/a
*Each passenger is permitted to purchase up to 2 checked in bags.

Spain - Minister for Housing, Beatriz Corredor, has replied to comments made last week by her predecessor

The Spanish Minister for Housing, Beatriz Corredor, has replied to comments from her predecessor, María Antonia Trujillo and said that now is a good time to buy property in Spain. Trujillo had said that she would not buy property now and forecast prices would fall by a further 30% -50%.

Now Corredor has come out with a defence of the work of her Ministry, underlining the work it does in providing help into the official protection housing market.

The Minister said that there was still a tax deduction on housing in force this year, and that mortgage interest rates remained very low. She also claimed that some property in Spain has fallen in price by more than 60%. She said it was ‘important for purchasers to find out how much housing is worth in the area where they have chosen to live’.

She also noted that the SPA, Public Rent Society, was taking over more than 30,000 of the empty newly built homes into the rental sector.

From www.typicallyspanish.com

Blow to Dubai Property Owners

Dubai property owners, who have been left totally at sea about the potential for having their properties completed at any stage, will not be happy with the news that one of the Emirate's main builders, Nakheel, is believed to have let go as many as 650 staff in the past week leaving the company now employing an estimated 240 people.

Nakheel, the property unit of Dubai World, was responsible for some of the more newsworthy and largest developments in Dubai such as the three Palm developments as well as Dubai World. It has announced the redundancies in a fresh round of job cuts according to Arabian Business magazine, but it was very reluctant to put a figure on the staff reduction.

Nakheel claims that the bulk of the redundancies affected administrative posts, but this is the latest in a string of cutbacks for the developer, which laid off 500 staff in November 2008 at the peak of the global financial crisis, and a further 400 in June 2009.

Dubai World, and therefore Nakheel, is a state backed group which has restructured $10.5bn in financial liabilities, asking trade creditors to wait five years to receive full payment having fallen behind on its repayments. Its owners, the Dubai government, said it would put $8bn in cash into the indebted property unit in March to help it pay contractors and suppliers and complete its projects.

The recent redundancies, in what is the biggest developer in the Emirate, will call into question whether much of the property that was sold in the boom will ever be built. This will, of course, come as quite a setback to the many Irish investors who have sent money to the Emirate. The quandary is whether they now write off their investment to date, contemplate legal action or live in hope that the Emirate can turn around its fortunes and build the properties that have been sold.

Get the full story in the Arabian Business magazine.

Spain's ex Housing Minister says she would not buy property in Spain now

The Spanish ex Minister for Housing, María Antonia Trujillo, has told a reader of El País in an online interview that she would not buy a flat in Spain now.

The questioner asked whether she agreed with her successor’s view; Beatriz Corredor has declared that now is the best time to buy a home.

María Antonia Trujillo replied that everyone can do what they see fit, but that she has been looking to buy for three years and would not do so now as she expected house prices in Spain to fall by a further 30-50%. She added she hoped the adjustment would happen quickly.

Trujillo, who was Minister at the end of the real estate boom, admitted her part of the blame for the crash saying that everyone from the citizen to the politician has their share of the blame. She added however that the then Minister for Tax and the Economy, Pedro Solbes, had opposed her ideas to remove tax breaks for house buyers.

However she thinks such incentives should be in place now, despite the Government’s intention to remove them.

Asked if she missed being in Government, she replied ‘The best thing about being Minister is having been one’.

From www.typicallyspanish.com

House prices now rising in more than half of countries across the globe

Knight Frank Global House Price Index – Quarter 1 2010 results

Key highlights:

• Prices increased in 53% of the locations monitored by the Knight Frank Global House Price Index in the year to the end of March 2010

• The Asia Pacific region saw the strongest growth with prices increasing, on average, by 17.8%

• Annual price inflation for all global housing markets moved into positive territory for the first time since Q4 2008, recording 1.6% growth in the year to March 2010

• The top performers remain the Asian economies of China, Hong Kong and Singapore, all recording annual growth in excess of 24%

• Ukraine and the three Baltic States continue to occupy the bottom rankings with annual price falls of more than 30%


Liam Bailey, head of residential research, Knight Frank, commented: “Arguably, the most noticeable trend in global house prices is the ease with which the performance of global housing markets can now be grouped by world region. The top four positions in our rankings are all occupied by Asia Pacific locations, whilst Europe dominates the bottom half of the table.
“A recovery in the global housing market is undoubtedly under way, in Q1 2009 33% of countries recorded positive annual growth, in Q1 2010 this figure is closer to 53% but still some way off the figure of 90% recorded in Q1 2006. “Analysis of the quarterly growth results suggests the markets in some of the worst performing markets such as the Baltic States and Ukraine are starting to experience some respite, with prices falling at a slower rate than previously. Estonia experienced a 40% fall in prices annually but only a 0.5% fall during the first three months of this year.

“Prices in Hong Kong increased by 30.6% in the year to March 2010, however, we expect results for the coming months will show more muted levels of growth as the Government’s efforts to rein in the overheated market take effect. These include measures to increase land supply, a maximum 60% loan-to-value restriction on mortgages for luxury homes and developers are now required to release at least 30% of units in their first phase to halt the slow release of homes which allows prices to inflate over the course of the development. “In Australia, prices rose 20% in the year to March 2010, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). However, in our opinion the results from ABS overstate the actual underlying price growth due to its unique methodology and seasonal shifts in market activity, partly as a result of the increase in first time buyer demand over the past year which has been driven by government incentives.

“Historically, the index has overshot on both the downside and in this case the upside – other private house price measures, which have a more wide reaching methodology, taking into account apartments and semi-detached housing (unlike the ABS), have recorded growth of around 12% in the year to March 2010. This still significant growth has been driven by a confluence of factors; 40-year low interest rates, first time buyer concessions, strong population growth and a lagging supply response.

With interest rates now rising, the government withdrawing stimulus and the supply response picking up (albeit modestly), we expect house price growth to slow over the next six to nine months. “Doubts over the Australian Index’s methodology are mirrored in Spain where, according to its Housing Ministry, prices fell by 4.7% in the year to March 2010. Most serious commentators however believe price falls of 10-20% over this period provide a more accurate reflection of Spain’s housing market performance given its backdrop; 20% unemployment, a shrinking economy and rising debt.

“In Europe a positive story has been provided by the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden and Finland. Here, annual growth has hit double digits as housing markets, less beset by currency weakness and debt crisis than many of their European neighbours, has allowed supply shortages to fuel growth once more. “Generally, however, the Q1 2010 results suggest that whilst global housing markets remain polarised, each quarter provides new evidence that the global recovery is gaining ground as the proportion of countries moving into positive territory increases. It remains to be seen whether this is another period of sustained growth or the middle peak in a double dip recession. Certainly, a number of European economies face growing challenges in the form of tightening fiscal policy and austerity measures.”

For further information, please contact:
Liam Bailey, Residential Research, Knight Frank, +44 (0)20 7861 5133, liam.bailey@knightfrank.com


To read the full report Click Here.