By Lavern Clarke, Staff ReporterDOUGLAS Chambers has taken over the operation of Enchanted Garden, and is looking to raise $5 million immediately to finance its repair in preparation to sell the assets of the resort property.
The 20-acre gardens in Ocho Rios were "resuscitated" and re-opened to tours, and has already had 100 visitors passing through, a third of which braved last weekend's rains to view the flora and fauna, he said.
THREE-MONTH TIMELINE
Chambers, the appointed liquidator for Premium Investment Limited (PIL), the company which holds the assets of the resort, is working with a three-month timeline to raise the funds and effect repairs, after which he will concentrate more fully on selling the assets, he told The Financial Gleaner.
Edward Seaga, chairman of the Premium Group of companies, placed PIL into voluntary liquidation this month to raise funds to pay off tax liabilities of about $120 million and other debts owed by Town and Country Resorts Limited, another of his companies which managed Enchanted Garden.
Chambers has already begun implementing cost cutting measures, having made 25 of the property's 61 employees redundant on Wednesday. He said the property was overstaffed.
The liquidator is legally required to cease operations of a company placed in voluntary liquidation, but Company Law allows for exceptions where the continuation of business is shown to be "beneficial" to the winding up.
"Instead of not operating, we have decided to open the gardens to Jamaicans, to give them a chance to view it," said Chambers. "We need to generate income to effect certain repairs that are needed to the gardens and property, to put it back in a more saleable position."
The daily tours, advertised at $500 for adults and $300 for children, are unlikely to raise all the repair funds, he acknowledged, but said he would be selling off some of the fixture and furnishings immediately, as well.
Formerly marketed largely to tourists, the liquidator now says he plans to capitalise on Enchanted Garden's relative mystery to locals, and its association with Seaga as a former Prime Minister and current Leader of the Opposition, to sell the tours.
The resort comprises 129 condominiums and apartments, "none of which belong to Premium Investment," said Chambers, but are owned independently by individuals and institutions.
The property itself has 14 waterfalls, an aviary, a fish pond, and a number of rare plants. The assets to be sold include furniture, fixtures and equipment, and the property itself, which includes livestock and plants.
Chambers said he was yet to finalise the valuation of the assets, and was not yet at the point of speaking with interested buyers.
