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TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2025
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Blake Road storage reclaimed over $1.166m unpaid tax fears By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A 765-unit Blake Road storage facility has been reclaimed by its owner over fears it was about to be seized and auctioned-off to recover $1.165m in unpaid real property taxes. Justice Camille DarvilleGomez, in a July 16, 2025, verdict ordered that Mogul Trading Ltd, whose principals include Lyford Cay philanthropist and investor, Philippe Bonnefoy, receive
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“immediate possession” of the 3.543-acre site amid accusations of “sabotage, delay and deception”. She also ruled that Store Away Ltd, which had been operating the storage facility for more than 27 years as Mogul Trading’s tenant, had been in “unlawful occupation” of the 3.543-acre site since May 6, 2025 - the date when the deal was terminated via a second demand letter. Legal documents obtained by Tribune Business detail a variety of concerns raised by Mogul Trading over Store Away’s management of the storage facility,
which operated under the latter’s name. A February 10, 2023, letter issued by Adrian White, the St Anne’s MP who was Mogul Trading’s then-attorney, alleged that Store Away Ltd owed his client $520,000 in unpaid rent arrears dating from January 1, 2022. Other frustrations emerged over the alleged failure by Store Away’s principals, Larry Ferguson and his wife, Brenda, to close the sale of the Blake Road property with various potential buyers between 2017 and 2021. Mogul Trading Ltd and its directors claim the failed sales efforts were
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really a strategy for Mr Ferguson, his wife and Store Away “to prolong control” and ensure they retained the rent and profits. The Supreme Court filings also contained previous Tribune Business reports detailing how Mr Ferguson suffered two recent legal defeats in his battle with Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) after it refused to clear a $22.11m investment in his aragonite export venture by a Slovakian citizen he had never met. He was also contractor for the Gladstone Road wastewater plant that suffered major cost overruns. This newspaper’s contacts, meanwhile, revealed that Mr Bonnefoy and Mogul Trading Ltd have wasted no time in reclaiming control at Blake Road and changing both staff and management. One of the 700 existing tenants, speaking on condition of anonymity, told this newspaper that the storage facility’s name has also
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Switcha chief ‘100%’ confident on voluntary liquidation escape By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE entrepreneur behind the popular Bahamian-made drink, Switcha, yesterday asserted he is “100 percent” confident the brand will escape voluntary liquidation and emerge even stronger. Mervin Sweeting, who founded the company in 2007, told Tribune Business that the issues which resulted in newspaper notices last week advertising that Switcha Bahamas has been placed into a “voluntary” winding-up are “being resolved” and there is “no real material effect” on its operations and production.
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Realtor renews plea for tax consistency By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN realtor has renewed plea for tax consistency and continuity in the sector amid concerns that constantly changing rates represent an increased investment risk for overseas buyers. David Morley, Morley Realty’s broker/owner, told Tribune Business in a recent interview that the Bahamas Real Estate Association (BREA) has been trying to impress upon the Government the need to maintain a relatively seamless VAT transfer tax and real property tax policy that avoids continual rate changes in the annual Budget. While it is unknown whether the message has got through, he added that “at one point in time” it was understood that the Government was considering raising the annual property tax cap from $150,000 to $175,000 in a bid to generate more revenue. However, it ultimately decided to leave the cap at $150,000. “The big thing the real estate association (BREA) is trying to remind the Government of is, on the issue of taxation of property, they’ve got to have a period of consistency,” Mr
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alluding to the COVID pandemic’s impact, voiced optimism he can regain ownership control. “I’m 100 percent. We will be covered. No issues,” the Switcha principal told this newspaper. “There’s no issues. That’s why I put no material issues [in the statement]. It’s being resolved as we
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GRAND BAHAMA POWER COMPANY HEADQUARTERS
speak. There’s no question. No question.” Explaining that what he confronts is no different to someone who loses their home because they fail to keep up with mortgage payments, Mr Sweeting added that “everybody has their own challenges” as he reiterated confidence in his own ability to retrieve the situation. “I’m 100 percent, and that’s why I can smile with you,” he said. “It may be
GB Power ‘confident it can hold fort’ on further outages
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Gov’t demolishes 13th property in downtown By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net THE Davis administration was yesterday said to have completed its 13th downtown Nassau property demolition in two years by levelling the Levy building in its drive to revive the city as a commercial hub. The demolished property had previously housed the Bahamas Agricultural and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) on Bay Street and Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister and minister of tourism, investments and aviation, said the Government is making “steady progress” with its Downtown revitalisation project. He added that the demolition creates an opportunity for the “continued transformation of Bay Street” as the site can now be used to attract investors. “This is our 13th demolition here today. This building is owned by the Government of The Bahamas, and we are demonstrating by our deeds that we are committed to the clean-up and the restoration of Bay Street,” said Mr Cooper. “We have embarked on this project over the last two-and-a-half years, making steady progress. Today, the Levy building is about to be demolished, and we hope
that this site will become something that’s CHESTER COOPER renewed, whether it’s a hotel or shopping or entertainment. We are creating opportunity for a continued transformation of Bay Street.” The historic Levy building was previously used as a distribution centre and was connected to the Levy plantation in Eleuthera. Acknowledging the site’s historical significance, Mr Cooper said the only requirement for its development is that it must ensure the legacy of Mr Levy is preserved. “Our mission, really, is to get public engagement, stakeholder engagement. We want to ensure that we are not just talking the talk, we’re walking the walk,” said Mr Cooper. “This is significant for us. The Levy building held some agricultural and humanitarian significance of Mr Levy, and we’re going to ensure that that is preserved in the future, so that whatever comes here, the name Levy will live on. That will be our one requirement for this development.”
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By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net GRAND Bahama Power Company “seems pretty confident they are going to be able to hold the fort” with no further major outages for summer 2025, private sector representatives have disclosed. Dillon Knowles, the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce president, told Tribune Business that the plans unveiled by the island’s monopoly energy provider last week “seem to be sound” but it now has to execute - especially on generation unit maintenance - to restore both business
community and household confidence in the reliability of its supply. He added that GB Power has a 22 mega watt (MW) generation capacity surplus, with 74 MW if all units are available to handle the island’s 55 MW peak load demand, but this depends on all necessary and scheduled maintenance being completed. The utility informed Chamber representatives that it intends to finish this by month’s end. Dave McGregor, GB Power’s president and the senior Caribbean executive for its 100 percent
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