business@tribunemedia.net
WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2025
$5.48 $5.09
$5.63
$5.56
$5.49
Atlantis confirms ‘temporary closure’ for its Coral Towers By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net ATLANTIS last night confirmed its Coral Towers complex will “temporarily close” after August 17 for what union leaders suggested will be an eight-week period due to a “significant dropoff” in bookings. Vaughn Roberts, the Paradise Island mega resort’s executive vice-president of administration and strategic initiatives, in an e-mail response to Tribune Business inquiries confirmed the move although he provided few other
t .FHB SFTPSU A/PU VOVTVBM JO TIPVMEFS TFBTPO t 6OJPO &JHIU XFFLT BGUFS ATJHOJmDBOU ESPQ PGG t /*# ADIFDLT BOE CBMBODFT GPS BGGFDUFE TUBGG
‘Ahead of ourselves’ by up to 10% if Q4 repeat By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN auto dealers are optimistic new vehicle sales can beat 2024’s banner total by 5-10 percent if they enjoy a repeat of last year’s fourth quarter, asserting: “Then we’ll really be ahead of ourselves.” Ben Albury, the Bahamas Motor Dealers Association’s (BMDA) president, told Tribune Business he was “pleasantly surprised” that industry-wide sales had kept pace with 2024’s strong performance for the five months through to endMay 2025. Voicing confidence that the sector will “match or surpass” last year’s tally, he added that the fourth quarter had been the strongest three-month period for 2024 and any repeat will likely take BMDA members collectively beyond last year’s total. With June and 2025 halfyear figures still awaited, Ben Albury told this newspaper that his dealership, Bahamas Bus and Truck, had been able to largely hold new vehicle prices to consumers despite having to contend with “chaotic” volatility in shipping costs and price increases from some manufacturers.
AN ex-husband has been “saddled” with the family business’s entire $100,000 debt, and ordered by the Court of Appeal, to pay his former wife a combined $221,406, for “mismanaging” its financial affairs. Appeal Justice Gregory Smith, in a unanimous verdict, upheld the Supreme Court’s original ruling that Ernest Williams must pay his now-former wife, Ingrid, $77,0062 representing 50 percent of the funds taken out of their business, Sunshine Deli, to pay his personal expenses. The eatery business closed in early 2021 after it was unable to overcome the hardship inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic. And Mr Williams was also ordered to pay his expartner a further $141,344, which represented onethird of the monies taken out of Sunshine Deli by himself that were “not accounted for by him”.
disclosed to this newspaper that the union is “putting all the checks and balances in place” to “mitigate” any loss of income and financial fall-out that its members may suffer at a time when they will incur extra Back-to-Schoolrelated expenses. While Mr Woods said it is unclear how many Atlantis workers may be impacted, it appears likely that several hundred at the very least will be affected. The union chief, confirming that the BHCAWU had already been notified by the mega resort of its plans,
MITIGATION - See Page B4
No automatic termination for Grand Lucayan’s staff By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
BEN ALBURY And Fred Albury, the Auto Mall principal who is namesake, asserted that the Bahamian auto market is “a bit more diluted” due to the increased competition provided by new market entrants such as EV Motors, Sebas Bastian’s electric vehicle dealership, and an influx of Chinesemade autos in general. However, he disclosed that Auto Mall, the dealer for the Toyota, Hyundai and BMW brands, is “holding to the forecast” provided to suppliers in its “annual plan” on anticipated vehicle sales. And, echoing Ben Albury, he added that “unless tourism takes a nosedive” the Bahamian auto industry remains poised to enjoy a fourth
AUTOS - See Page B4
Ex-husband ‘saddled’ over mismanaged deli By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
details while suggesting it was consistent with actions taken in prior years during the slower part of the tourism calendar. “Yes, the Coral Towers will temporarily close after August 17,” Mr Roberts said. “This is not unusual at all. For the past 20 years Atlantis has used this shoulder season to reduce some operations. This year, we will also finish some plumbing repairs which were suspended earlier due to high occupancies.” His reply came after Darrin Woods, the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union (BHCAWU) president,
The only variation made by the Court of Appeal was to lower the latter sum by $50,000 from the original $191,344, as it found that the latter figure contained “an element of double compensation” - namely the former wife’s 50 percent share of the company’s total $100,000 debt - which the Supreme Court had already ordered Mr Williams to assume full liability for repaying. The Court of Appeal, in its verdict, said the Supreme Court felt “compelled to depart from the yardstick of equal sharing” - namely that assets and liabilities built-up in a long marriage be split equally 50/50 between spouses “because of the husband’s deliberate mismanagement of business funds and his egregious failure to disclose proper financial records with respect to the business”. Former Supreme Court justice, Diane Stewart, had ordered the couple to each conduct their own 90-day
DELI - See Page B6
GRAND Lucayan workers will not automatically be terminated when the resort closes to bookings next month and, instead, will be given the option to remain on staff via an employee retention initiative. Obie Ferguson KC, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) president who acts as legal adviser to the union representing the Freeport resort’s roughly 90 middle managers, told Tribune Business he understood that staff will not simply receive their severance and other due payments when the property closes to new business on August 13. The Grand Lucayan’s website shows that to be the existing resort’s last date of operations, with the property closed to reservations, bookings and new guests from and including August 14. “That is consistent with my understanding,” Mr Ferguson replied in response to this newspaper’s inquiries about the hotel’s staff not being automatically terminated upon closure. The TUC chief added that, once he has obtained
GRAND LUCAYAN
t /FX PXOFS XPSLJOH PO FNQMPZFF SFUFOUJPO QMBO t 4FWFSBM IVOESFE UP IBWF PQUJPO UP ATUBZ PO CPBSE t 56$ MFBEFS A$POTJTUFOU XJUI NZ VOEFSTUBOEJOH the correct information about the new owner, Concord Wilshire’s, plans he will then meet with the Bahamas Hotel Managerial Association’s (BHTA) members at the Grand Lucayan to discuss the available options and potential impact for them when the property enters its demolition phase.
“I understand that around August 15 certain things will happen,” Mr Ferguson said. “What I intend to do is once I could collect all the correct information I will return to have a meeting with my members, all 90-92 of them. I do not want to say anything that’s inaccurate or misleading.
DARRIN WOODS
VAUGHN ROBERTS “I want to make sure I get the correct information and, once I get that, that is when I will go to Grand Bahama and deal with it - as soon as I get all the specifics. I want to make certain that the information I disseminate turns out to be accurate because they will rely on what I say to them.” The Grand Lucayan, where only one of its three properties - Lighthouse Pointe - is currently open, is understood to employ around 200-300 staff. Well-placed Tribune Business sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed the new owner is working on an initiative that will give employees the option of receiving their salary while the property is demolished and then redeveloped. “It’s not going to be your typical termination or severance pay,” one contact confirmed. “There’s going to be a [staff] retention programme. They’ll have the option to stay on staff, on board. It will not apply across the board and there will be various tiers” or categories of employees. It is thought that this retention plan will also be presented to the Government. Concord Wilshire, which is purchasing the Grand Lucayan for $120m via its Ancient Waters Bahamas Ltd subsidiary, is understood to be working through the regulatory process with both the Government and Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) to obtain the
RETENTION - See Page B4
$7.5m PI food store under new manager By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@ tribunemedia.net THE former $7.5m Sawyers Fresh Market food store on Paradise Island has been acquired by an all-Bahamian management team following the previous owner’s early 2025 demise. Speaking to Tribune Business, a manager at the rebranded Paradise Premium Foods outlet, the anchor food store at the former Hurricane Hole property that has itself been redeveloped by Sterling Global Financial, said they are fighting what he described as the “stigma” of empty shelves and high prices left by Sawyer’s. The new operator is now focused on “building consumer confidence”. “We came down on the prices. I know the struggle with Sawyers was that products were not kept on the shelves. We are dealing with that stigma right
now, but we’re slowly building the confidence. We’re just trying to keep the shelves stocked, keep the prices balanced and go from there,” he said. The manager, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed the group acquired the location some three to four months ago and intends to keep prices competitive to attract both guests and residents. “We have a market here and we’re going to capitalise on it. We came to revamp and ensure we keep the prices low, not only for tourists but there are residents here on Paradise Island and, if we remain competitive, they won’t have to venture over the bridge for products,” he said. Tribune Business reached out to Sawyer’s Fresh Market for comment but repeated calls went unanswered. Tribune Business sources confirmed that, following
STIGMA - See Page B5