ok buys and girls - if this comes off 'we're in the money, we're in the money' (but bang goes the peace and quiet !
from simply networking
The Cross of Culture could raise a phoenix from the ashes of Polaris
Condado de Alhama II offered to Paramount Investors as theme park location
It's amazing how the playing field can change.
Polaris World are knocking on the door of bankruptcy.
Just days before the deadline which will propel them into a formalized insolvency process, Pedro Cruz, Minister of Culture for the Region of Murcia, a man with a vision who wants to really put Murcia on the map and whose name ironically translates as Cross, comes back from the deserts of Dubai with the news that a team from the American Giant Paramount are coming to the region to carry out viability studies for a project to build the rival to Disneyworld Paris here in the Region of Murcia.
Suddenly, property that is a dead dodo could, just could, be worth a fortune.
The Condado at Alhama, 3000 houses constructed out of a possible 30,000, planning permissions intact, power, intact, water supplies ,intact, services , intact. But no more money to finish the development and the developer offering property at 50% discount in a desperate bid to stay afloat, and still no-one's buying.
To clear off their debts, they've given the ownership of what would have become Condado II to the banks, as well as the unsold properties on Condado I, and are still haggling, no formal agreement announced yet as they still argue and fight, carving up the Polaris Empire to clear their debts.
It's complicated.
The management want to say they've maintained their identity, but the reality is that whatever the announcement , when it finally comes, they've carved it up into little pieces, with many different people owning a piece of what used to be the Polaris pie.
And can you imagine the desperation they must be feeling now, watching what's unfolding around them, which, had it happened 6 months ago, would have made them the most important company in the region of Murcia.
What's happened now is that the cross of culture has blazed a trail across the sky, and built a bridge across the oceans to America, a bridge that could have saved Polaris World from falling into the abyss.
"If the man from the big apple says yes," this region will be able to create 20,000 jobs, expect an additional 3 million tourists a year and property prices in this region will rocket.
Those houses that Polaris are having to give away now, will be worth a fortune.
And the land they've been forced to give to the banks will be priceless.
But is it going to happen, and if so, where????
This week, councils, banks, businesses and politicians have been flocking to offer their support for this project, all desperate to get in on the action and make it happen.
And every municipality wants it to happen to them.
The reality of big projects like these is that Paramount knows how badly we want them, and these big boys play tough to get, the location has to be right for them, and so does the deal. If this region wants the project there's a lot of boardroom wheeling and dealing to be done, promises made and concessions made, one of which will undoubtedly be the ceding of the land by the region, land worth millions, as a nice little carrot to bring the donkey into the stable.
And here, in the south of Murcia, we've got a King Carrot, a rather attractive parcel of land which the new owners have offered to the American Giant for the construction of their new theme park.
It's called Condado de Alhama II.
It comprises 6 million square metres and has already been given the status of urbanisable land and incorporated into the Plan Parcial.
And the people who own it are the banks to whom it was given by Polaris World in the negotiations which wiped a billion euros of indebtedness off their books last autumn, the consortium IRM, Iniciativa Resort Mediterraneo owned by Caja Mediterraneo, Cajamurcia, CajaMadrid, Banco Popular and Banco de Valencia.
It's ideally located within the triangle of new motorways, right next to the new airport and the new high speed train link and fortunately comes under the administration of a very sensible council.
Can you imagine how Polaris management must be feeling right now, with the possibility that this project could happen here, and make the property they're being forced to give away for nothing so valuable.
And why the negotiations must be so difficult to conclude when all parties know that this one decision will make a dead donkey into a Grand National Champion, and if only they had a crystal ball they could make millions out of buying now, investing now, or not giving it all away now.
If you had a million euros to invest right now , would you take the gamble and pick up those properties at half price, or indeed, any of the other bargain properties going begging in Murcia right now, with the possibility that this could actually happen?
Decisions, decisions