In the Spotlight with Rob Jarrett

We caught up with Rob Jarrett, CEO at The Resort Group

Related topics:  In The Spotlight
Warren Lewis
26th November 2015
rob

1. How did you get into the property industry?
 
My career started in the financial services industry. I worked at Prudential in the early 90s and later formed my own financial services practice. I gained solid industry experience and contacts, which led to an overseas property company asking me to sell their properties on the Costa del Sol in Spain. Although this worked well for some time, I wanted to sell my own properties for a profit. In 2003, I formed a new Spanish company and signed a contract to buy 527 properties off plan. In just 12 months, all of them were sold out to end users through financial advisors and property agents.
 
I was soon approached by a sales agent for Donald Trump about his (then) $500 million project Trump International Hotel & Tower in Toronto, Canada. I purchased the top three floors, which were exclusively branded Club Trump Suites, and started selling hotel suites to end users in 2005. They sold out very quickly, so I purchased the fourth floor of the hotel one year later. By 2007, all suites sold out.
 
It was during my time selling Club Trump Suites that I started to look at Cape Verde as a place to build and sell properties. After conducting due diligence on the islands, I established The Resort Group in 2007 and around the same time bought land on Sal Island for our (now completed) properties MELIÁ Tortuga Beach Resort and MELIÁ Dunas Beach Resort & Spa. In 2009, I secured a management agreement with Meliá Hotels International to operate the resorts. As well as attracting holidaymakers from across Europe, the resorts have quickly attracted property investors looking for long-term investment opportunities.
 
2. What would you say are the biggest advantages to overseas property investment?
 
One of the biggest reasons that investors explore overseas property investment is money. While shares and bonds continue to offer an impressive return on investment, we have found that overseas property investment is an increasingly attractive and rewarding option.
 
The fact that many holiday destinations are experiencing higher levels of occupancy tell us there is a demand for more commercial property abroad. This presents a great investment opportunity for individuals looking at different ways to invest their money.
 
For as long as people continue to travel abroad, overseas property investors can enjoy strong rental yields over a long-term. This is especially true when the property is located in countries where there is great weather (after all, most of us seek sunshine in a holiday), political stability, consistent growth in land values and a sustained level of government investment. And when the property is managed by a good lettings or travel agency.
 
Even off-plan properties can bring instant returns and, importantly, a high level of security. As an example, The Resort Group guarantees an off-plan incentive of 7% per annum return during the construction phase, meaning investors can start earning immediately.

3. What advice would you give to potential investors?
 
Investors are often faced with so many different investment opportunities that making a decision can be difficult. Also, an opportunity that works for one investor, might not work for another. I’d therefore recommend that potential property investors do as much research as possible in order for them to make an informed decision.
 
Firstly, look for an investment provider or property developer with a proven track record and find credentials that clearly demonstrate both their experience and reputation.
 
Investors looking overseas should also conduct thorough research on a chosen destination. Make sure there is enough tourist development. Do well-known travel agencies and airlines regularly operate there for example? Consider going on inspection tour if you’re offered one too. At The Resort Group, we regularly run tours for potential investors so they can, first hand, see the island, its resorts and local amenities.
 
Finally, it’s worth considering investing through a company that is backed by a respected hotel operator – a hotel suite on a holiday resort managed by Meliá Hotels International is the perfect example. The reason being is that the company will run a hotel management scheme, which takes off the pressure of finding holidaymakers all year round, and the hotel operator will market the resort on a global scale.
 
4. Why Cape Verde?
 
Cape Verde is earning a reputation as one of the world’s hottest property investment locations, and it’s largely thanks to tourism. In fact, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), Travel & Tourism in Cape Verde accounted for 15.2% of its total GDP in 2014, and it is forecast to rise by 7% in 2015, and rise by 5.9% each year from 2015-2025 (reaching 18.6% of total GDP in 2025). WTTC also placed Cape Verde 10th in the top 50 holiday hotspots after visitor numbers increased by 268% between 2000 and 2013.
 
This boom is creating high demand for rental property from private villas right through to beachfront holiday resorts. Since 2011, The Resort Group alone has opened two large hotel resorts and they have attracted over a million tourists (MELIÃ Dunas Beach Resort & Spa is now number 1 on TripAdvisor just one year after opening). Due to their popularity, property investment opportunities on both resorts are now sold out and we are currently selling properties off-plan at our other developments in Cape Verde, which as I mentioned earlier give investors as much as 7% return during construction.
 
The great thing about Cape Verde is that there isn’t room for overdevelopment in the future, meaning it won’t lose its original charm and appeal. Cape Verde is well protected because the government has strict legislation in place that only allows low level and low density projects to proceed. This not only protects the look and feel of the Islands, but also restricts the number of properties that can be built. A similar principle is applied to the land in Cape Verde, which means that much of it is protected and cannot be sold to developers.
 
The size of the Cape Verde also gives a feeling of exclusivity to overseas property investors. Property ownership is limited, and owners will effectively benefit from an excess of supply, resulting in consistent rental returns, and impressive capital growth.
 
5. How is the Llana Beach development going?
 
Llana Beach Hotel, which is our third development, is taking great shape. A phenomenal amount of work has been achieved since construction began in 2014 and the hotel is on schedule to open in 2016. Our latest gallery of images can be seen here.
 
As part of the development, we have been building a new lagoon outside the hotel and our other two resorts. We take our environmental impact very seriously and a large part of our decision to build the new lagoon is that it will provide a vital habit for local marine life. From an investment perspective, the lagoon will help to make our three hotel resorts on Sal even more attractive to holidaymakers (largely due to it encouraging safety on the beach and in the sea) and add value to properties.
 
6. What’s next for The Resort Group?
 
With construction of Llana Beach Hotel well under way, our investment model will be replicated in the Sal’s neighbouring island Boa Vista. This is in response to the island’s impressive tourism growth over the last few years, which is now at a similar level to Sal. The Cape Verde Government has earmarked Boa Vista for major touristic development, approving plans for new hotels and resorts, as well as investing in the island’s infrastructure such as new roads, improved power supplies and desalination plants.

The Resort Group has therefore purchased prime development land on Santa Monica Beach in Boa Vista. Our master plan will incorporate White Sands Hotel & Spa alongside five other projects including an impressive marina – all of which will be developed in partnership with some of the world’s leading hotel brands. Our resorts will meet the growing demand for high quality accommodation on the Island and capitalise on the continuing growth in tourism to create an exceptional property investment opportunity.

While Cape Verde is recognised as a touristic hotspot, it is also known for developing its international business partnerships. Its capital and largest city, Praia, therefore requires a high quality hotel for business travellers and dignitaries and The Resort Group has formed an agreement with Hilton Worldwide to build the first Hilton Hotel in the city.

The upscale business hotel, which is expected to open in 2018, will offer 201 guestrooms and suites across 15 floors along with extensive meeting and event facilities. We recently had a groundbreaking ceremony, which was presided over by the Prime Minister of Cape Verde and Mayor of Praia.

More like this
Latest from Financial Reporter
Latest from Protection Reporter
CLOSE
Subscribe
to our newsletter

Join a community of over 20,000 landlords and property specialists and keep up-to-date with industry news and upcoming events via our newsletter.