Hello All

As many of you will know, I have recently returned from Cape Verde. The purpose of my trip as you will see from the photos and this account was twofold, business and leisure.

The business part was of course related to an assessment and evaluation of the potential of Cape Verde in general and Sal island in particular from a property investment point of view.

Prior to my trip, we did some background analysis and identified a development which at looked like an attractive proposition; but as they say, seeing is believing!

I was arriving on the 6th April and I had arranged to meet the developer in person on Friday the 13th, which gave me plenty of time to check out the island, as well as seeming like a good day to refrain from kite surfing!

The meeting with the developer lasted over three hours and I thought you would be interested in his background and what we discussed. I started by telling him a bit about Choices Acquisitions and answering his questions about our buying power and the kind of clients we represent. After he was satisfied I asked him to tell me about his background and past experience starting from when and if he could remember, why he was born and bring me up to date from there.

He was very obliging and frank about his track record which I can summarize as follows to the best of my recollection.

His name is Rob Jarrett, he is 32 years old and although he is English, he lives in Monaco for tax purposes. He has a long term partner and they are expecting their first child soon. He has no formal educational qualifications having left school at the earliest opportunity to take up an apprenticeship. Eventually he went into financial consultancy and mortgage broking and proved to be a top salesperson with the Prudential and later with Allied Dunbar. During the early 1990ies he started to buy property in the UK as an investment and of course these initial properties proved to be very good long term performers.

In his dealings with estate agents he became interested in selling property in Spain to his clients as an investment and from there it was a short step to realizing that his real interest lay in finding a development of his own. He gained the support and backing of thirty nine clients and went out looking for the right proposition, in the end it took two years and several aborted deals before the right thing came up.

Each time he rejected a deal his credibility went up with his clients and more were prepared to back him, when he eventually found a proposition that inspired him it turned out to be much bigger that he anticipated. Not deterred he found a partner to come up with the initial finance and to cut a very long story short managed to develop and sell one of the most successful ever property developments on the Spanish coast.

Following this success (which led to his relocation to Monaco)! Rob became involved with the Trump Towers development in Toronto, by using his design and business flair he created an exclusive club within the Towers which now rents for a premium over other suites within the building. At this point it was Rob’s intention to retire but after about three weeks he became disenchanted with the idea and instead started to look for his next project. As is the way with these things that project had to be bigger and more ambitious that ever which lead him eventually to Cape Verde. It has taken Rob approximately two years to investigate the local market, make the required contacts and secure the right parcel of land to create the Tortuga and Dunas developments.

Ponta Preta Beach in front of Tortuga Development

Having done the rounds of the island, I am convinced that he has chosen the right location; I am equally convinced that having compared his pricing and proposed specification with the other main developments on offer that his pricing is already competitive, even without the discount I managed to negotiate.

I think it’s worthwhile you understanding why he decided to offer our clients such a tempting offer when on the face of it he can easily sell all the available units at higher prices. In a nutshell, I was able to show him the value of a relationship with Choices on a long term basis. Now he has decided not to retire, he is planning to grow his development business substantially and having us on board could prove to be a valuable partnership for all concerned.

I learned a lot from my visit to Cape Verde, I learned that if you want to gain the maximum benefits from an investment in property abroad you have to have the vision to see beyond what is there and be able to imagine what will be there.

I also learned that you have to be cautious and discerning before making a firm commitment which is why, despite being impressed with Rob and his plans, I am only prepared to take preliminary reservations from clients at this stage. All reservation money will stay in the developer's solicitor's client account until all the paperwork we want to see is in place, only then will the money be released. I have made this clear to Rob and just in case he fails to perform I have identified a back up development to switch into.

Santa Maria

Investment Summary SAL Island Cape Verde

General Attractions

1. A fabulous climate, 365 days per year of sunshine
2. Direct flights from Manchester and Gatwick
3. Only five and a half hours flying time
4. One or two hours time difference from the UK
5. Demand far exceeds supply
6. Prices are rising fast
7. A clean canvas for development
8. Friendly locals
9. Political stability
10. Superb water sports

Specific attractions of Tortuga beach

1. English developer
2. Superb location
3. competitive pricing
4. Exclusive discount for Choices clients
5. Assignable contracts
6. 30 months to completion
7. Ground floor opportunity
8. Imminent price rise

General cautions

1. All overseas investment is more risky that investing in the UK
2. All new development on Sal dependent on growth of infrastructure
3. Small risk of political upset
4. Risk that direct flights stop
5. Risk of overdevelopment or inappropriate development

Specific cautions Tortuga Beach

1. Paperwork not yet in place
2. Dependant on developer finishing the job to a good standard
3. Chance of delays due to bureaucracy, labor and materials shortages etc

Summary Recommendations

Although it has to ultimately be your decision and responsibility as to whether you decide to invest in Cape Verde in general and in Tortuga beach in particular, having visited the place and met the developer, I feel it represents a fabulous opportunity for capital growth and rental returns. That said, given the early stage of the development, I have agreed with the developer that any reservations we take prior to the paperwork being in place will remain in the Developer’s Solicitors client account and will only be passed on to the developer once building licenses have been received.. If for any reason the developer cannot satisfy us within a reasonable time frame, I have identified a backup development which I believe also represents excellent value and I am currently negotiating with the developer to secure some further units on favorable terms.

N.B

At the time of the writing the 20 units referred to have been three times over-subscribed. However due to the positive response I am currently negoiating for a further allocation of units and therefore we would like to invite further initial expressions of interest at this stage.

Yours sincerely

Choices Acquisitions and Investments
01342 840000