The States have first option on the lease, but have been advised to decline it by the Finance and Economics Committee.
They are recommending that the head lease on the site – which includes Cineworld, Liquid nightclub, the Chicago Rock Café and The Bar – be sold to a private investor.Developer CTP (Jersey) Ltd say they have received interest from agents in the Island, but that if they do not get the price they are looking for, they will take the 150-year head lease off the market and wait until a suitable offer comes in.CTP director Keith McCormack said they felt the time was right to sell.’We are expecting offers around £14 million,’ he said.
‘We should know by Christmas which direction we are going to go in.
If we get an acceptable offer I would think we will complete the sale by the end of January or early February, after the legal process and due diligence has been completed.’He said that as CTP was a development firm and not an investment group, it had always been their intention to sell the head lease when they felt that the market was right.The only exempt part of the development that will not be affected by the sale of the head lease is the Aquasplash swimming pool that has been leased back to the public separately.
