Joint Venture Of Anguilla National Tourism Investment Limited And Auberge Firesky LLC For The Purcha

PRESS STATEMENT

Anguilla National Tourism Investment Limited (ANTIL) and Auberge-Firesky LLC, signed a Heads of Agreement on Friday October 20th, 2006 for a joint venture to purchase, improve and expand Cap Juluca’s facilities. ANTIL is an Anguillian company that represents the interest and aspirations of the people of Anguilla and in particular the management and staff, to participate in the ownership of Cap Juluca.

Its joint venture partner, Auberge-Firesky is led by two highly experienced and successful developers and operators of quality tourism properties, John Berry Turbidy and Mark Harmon, who initialed the Heads of Agreement with ANTIL in their capacity as the principals of Auberge-Firesky. They are currently developing an outstanding luxury tourism development in the Southeast Peninsula (Salt Pond) area of St. Kitts.

The partners to the joint venture, in light of the signing of the Heads of Agreement are hard at work seeking to advance their proposals for the future of the Cap Juluca property. Their proposals are in keeping with the policy direction that the Anguilla Government recently set out in a letter of August 3rd, 2006 to Mr. Friedland and copied to the various parties interested in acquiring Cap Juluca.

Auberge-Firesky on behalf of the joint venture and in response to indications from the owner of Cap Juluca and his representatives that they were not approached and did not receive an offer from Auberge-Firesky, quite recently forwarded, for a third time, an offer to Mr. Friedland to purchase Cap Juluca. Mr. Friedland’s response to the offer is awaited. Auberge-Firesky and ANTIL are ready at short notice to sit down with Mr. Friedland and his representatives to discuss the offer and negotiate in good faith to achieve agreement for the purchase of the property, in keeping with the Government’s policy.

The joint venture partners are particularly appreciative of the critical contribution that the management and staff have made to Cap Juluca’s success. In consideration of this, they have included in the Heads of Agreement, to be entrenched in the corporate documents of the joint venture company, a commitment that 15% of the distributed profits (dividends) of the company will be paid into an irrevocable trust for the benefit of management and staff. This will be subject to the holders of the company’s common shares (that will be paid for in cash) first making a return on their investment in dividends equal to the amounts they invested. The management and staff will not be required to pay cash for the rights to the 15% distributed profit share. The consideration is their work in building the Cap Juluca brand to what it is today, under highly challenging circumstances.

Meanwhile, a delegation representing ANTIL and Auberge-Firesky met with the Chief Minister and other Ministers of the Anguilla Government on Monday, October 23rd, to discuss the joint venture’s intentions and proposals for purchasing Cap Juluca, upgrading and enhancing the existing 98 rooms and amenities and for developing a limited number of villas on the undeveloped lands, sufficient to make their business model reasonably profitable, while maintaining the low density critical to maintaining the Cap Juluca brand and conforming to the Government’s stated policy.

The discussions with the Government were wide ranging, transparent, open and frank. Much attention was paid to the challenges to be met and overcome in achieving the Government’s vision for the future of Cap Juluca, including substantial ownership participation by the people of Anguilla, and at the same time developing and operating a business that earns healthy profits. The Auberge-Firesky and ANTIL representatives sought to assure the Government that they have developed a model for the joint venture that is workable, sustainable and will enable the partners to stay true to the Government’s vision for Cap Juluca. The financial aspects of the model were discussed at length and supporting documents demonstrative of the ability to raise the required equity and loan capital for the venture were provided to the Chief Minister and colleagues, including the strategy for raising capital locally for the share of the company to be owned by and on behalf of the people of Anguilla.

ANTIL-Auberge-Firesky are extremely grateful to the Chief Minister and other Ministers for giving them the opportunity to have an in depth meeting on its proposals for Cap Juluca and are very satisfied that the issues were very well ventilated on both sides. ANTIL-Auberge-Firesky is highly encouraged as a result of the meeting to vigourously pursue their efforts to acquire Cap Juluca and to take all necessary steps to advance this opportunity, to the benefit the joint venture partners, the management and staff of Cap Juluca, the people of Anguilla as a whole and their economic empowerment.