Casino still a good bet

A CASINO at St Pierre Park Hotel is still a viable investment. Although owner CI Traders said last month it would be spending less on redeveloping the hotel than the '25m. originally planned, tourism spokesman Chris Sharp said it was still a good investment.

'It's a flagship hotel and the quicker it takes place, the better,' said Mr Sharp, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce's tourism group sub-committee.

CIT chairman Tom Scott said last month that it now wanted to spend 'teens of millions'.

The reduction in the original investment means that it is likely to have to go back to the States for approval for a variation in the licence conditions.

Commerce and Employment minister Stuart Falla said that he believed any approach to vary the conditions would be unsuccessful given the close outcome of the original debate.

Mr Sharp was confident that Mr Scott has based the decision on a sound business model and that any investment in the sector had his support.

The redevelopment has already cost CIT a substantial sum, particularly in making sure the management team would hold the right qualifications and experience under the licence conditions.

Planning permission has not been finalised but the concession will lapse if the development is not finished by September 2006.

'We continue to hold discussions with the relevant authorities in Guernsey to agree on the phasing and scale of the hotel development as our financial projections show returns that barely cover funding costs unless substantial improvements in occupancy rates are contemplated,' said Mr Scott.

'We continue to believe that a casino is attractive as a venue for Guernsey to support its tourist industry and we hope to come to a satisfactory conclusion of our discussions with the authorities later this year.'