Rum Cay residents concerned all construction work on Montana Holdings project stopped, with all workmen bar two having left island. THE developer behind the $700 million Rum Cay Resort Marina project yesterday said it was not pulling out, despite concerns expressed by islanders that all construction work on the development had halted, with most workmen having left the island.

Michael Farrant, a senior executive with Montana Holdings. said the developer was still committed to Rum Cay, telling Tribune Business that just because there was no vertical construction happening did not mean that the project was in jeopardy.

"I think that people need to have some patience. We have no intention of pulling out and we are still committed. Just because at the moment you may not see a backhoe or vertical construction does not mean that the project has stopped. We are just at another stage," Mr Far-rant said.

He was speaking in response to reports reaching The Tribunefrom residents on Rum Cay, who said Montana Holdings had only two employees left on the island - just watching over the work site and its Sumner Point Marina - and that work had come to a standstill.

Mr Farrant said that whenever a company is building a project with the scope and dimension of Rum Cay, many facets were involved.

"I think that when construction work stops then people automatically think that's the end of the project because they do not understand how development works," he added.

Speaking with The Tribune yesterday. Delores Wilson, a business owner on Rum Cay, confirmed what The Tribune had been
told. She said Montana Holdings staff on the island had been reduced to two gardeners, and that constructionwork had come to a standstill.

Ms Wilson said very few of the employees engaged on the project had been Rum Cay residents, which meant that the island's employment situation had not been impacted.

Mr Farrant was also asked about reports that the Carlton Group was helping Montana with a $80 million line of credit, which he refused to comment on. He would only say that financing is one aspect of the project.

A November 21, 2007. press release issued by the Carlton Group, a real estate and loan sale investment banking firm, with offices in New York, Palm Beach and Tel Aviv, described making an $80 million line of debt financing available to the Rum Cay Resort Marina project.

The release described the Carlton Group as the "exclusive advisor for the development of a mixed-use resort, to include a hotel, marina, condominiums, fractional ownership, an equestrian centre and an airstrip as the only resort community on a unique island in the Bahamas".

Other sources of financing for the Rum Cay project have come from a "$20 million-plus construction line of credit" that Montana Holdings obtained from Matrix Group, a UK real estate and private equity investor, and Halifax/Bank of Scotland, a UK financial institution.

Source

Another source is Integrated Data Corp, a Delaware-based telecommunications holding company, which is listed on the Nasdaq pink sheets. In its filings with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), Integrated Data Corp said it had taken a 20 per cent stake in Montana Holdings for $13 million, acquiring 1,120 of its 5,600 outstanding shares, in addition to providing the company with an unsecured $7 million revolving credit facility.

Resort

The Rum Cay Resort Marina had at that point been valued at $65 million, with the purchase price coming from $3.88 million in cash; $6.12 million via the sale of 3,060,000 Integrated Data Corp shares; and $3 million via an unsecured loan from Mr Mittens, Montana Holdings' chairman and majority shareholder.

Integrated Data Corp repaid $1 million to Mr Mittens on April 3, 2007, leaving a $2.047 million balance as at November 1.

The SEC filings added: "We also entered into an agreement to provide Montana Holdings an ongoing loan facility of up to $6 million to be utilised in defraying the general costs of Montana Holdings' Rum Cay development programme in the Bahamas during the whole of 2007.

"In addition, we agreed to provide up to $1 million in loans to be utilised in Montana Holdings' proposed development of a semi-autonomous Floor and Wall Tile Production Facility.

"On July 30, 2007, both parties agreed to reduce the maximum loan amount under this loan facility from $7 million to $5 million. The current loan balance under this loan facility as of November 1, 2007, including interest, is approximately $4.030 million."

Marina

The Rum Cay Resort Marina will feature marina village condominiums, ocean villas, ridge estates, a Rock Resorts condo hotel a residential beach club, equestrian center, golf practice facility, tennis courts, and a yacht club.

It will also feature an 80-slip Blue Flag marina designed to accommodate yachts up to 200-plus feet in length, with a build out of up to 200 slips, a Marina Village and dining and shopping options, as well as a luxury spa and free-form swimming pool.

It will be a $700 million investment at full build-out, creating up to 400 permanent jobs.

Source: The Tribune