Garwin Davis, Sunday Gleaner Writer

Justin Vaz, aboard SHABBA RANKS, goes through the rounds in a children’s international show-jumping event at St.Ann Polo Club, Drax Hall, last year. The property has been purchased recently by Cash Plus Development. - File

Cash Plus Development has recently acquired Drax Hall Estates, Carlos Hill, owner of Cash Plus investment firm confirmed yesterday.

“The 800 acres investment valued at over US$100 million (approximately J$7 billion) represents a premiere investment opportunity for Cash Plus to develop one of Jamaica’s finest resort communities,” said Hill.

Drax Hall Estate is a developing resort/residential community stretching from Mammee Bay to St. Ann’s Bay. It encompasses parcels of land on the main road leading from St. Ann’s Bay to Ocho Rios, with its northern boundary forming a beach and shallow cliff at the shoreline. The property encompasses the Drax Hall Great House situated on a former premier sugar plantation.

Master plan revised

In the early 1990s, it was slated for a major development that would have included a luxury 280-room beachfront hotel, the first hotel on the property; a 27-hole golf course; a modern 100-ship marina and marina village offering accommodation, shopping, dining and recreational facilities; 180-villa lots; condominium sites, and a sports facility. The development was to have been undertaken by Drax Hall Holdings Ltd., the former owners of the property.

Hill, however, noted that the original master plan has been revised and has been brought up to “world-class standards.” “This project will truly allow us to showcase a five-star resort with all the world-class amenities and services one could imagine, including a 27-hole golf course, a 100-ship marina to accommodate even the largest yacht, with promenade and shopping complexes, a private air strip to accommodate private jets, and also to bring the Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt hotels franchise on the same beautiful complex,” said Hill.

“As 90 per cent shareholder of the Drax Hall Estates, Cash Plus Development has already retained a major securities firm to underwrite a US$250,000,000 bond offering fordevelopment of phase one.”

Cash Plus Development – a subsidiary of the Cash Plus Group Limited – recently acquired the Hilton Kingston hotel, the first time the prestigious international brand has fallen into Jamaican hands.

The hotel was purchased at a price of US$42 million (J$2.8 billion), giving Cash Plus, already the owners of the Executive Inn hotels in Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, and also the Golden Seas resort in Oracabessa, St. Mary, a sound footing in the island’s hospitality sector.

Hill noted that the goal of his five-year-old company is to “build up an array of businesses in its expanding and diversified portfolio of companies.” He points to existing operations in the telecoms, financial, shipping, hospitality, fuels/chemicals, real estate and other sectors. He also claims ownership of a number of other properties in the Corporate Area, including Priscilla’s nightclub.

“Our goal is to remain competitive,” he said. “The Hilton acquisition was big, but this Drax Hall venture is our finest moment yet. We are hardly done yet, however, as there are more acquisitions to come.”