DBC Megathread

[Banker]

1 hour ago, english zloty said:

Yep local authorities pensions are among the best on the Island. And they're not rushing to reform them.

DBC pension contributions were £1.757m y/e 3/21

[Andy Onchan]

On 6/26/2022 at 7:55 PM, Steady Eddie said:

Mr Bradley is quite a convincing man when dealing with complete idiots. You can guess which outcome it was. He sold a high risk over the top project with ‘key brands’ becoming involved in a multi million pound investment into a key regeneration asset to get a lease for almost nothing on a plot of land where he can now rake in car parking fees for doing absolutely nothing. He must have literally re-allocated £250K of revenue a year off the DOI for the cost of drawing up a one pound 99 year lease. The development (if it ever happens) will probably pay for itself in time out of car parking fees as the company that got the lease had £1 paid up capital and had shelled out for a few plans and a lease and that’s about it. If it sits there raking in car parking fees the DOI would have otherwise got for another 10 years they’re laughing all the way to the bank. 

You'd have to question what it is that Bradley has over certain past decision makers in DOI?

[Banker]

1 hour ago, Andy Onchan said:

You'd have to question what it is that Bradley has over certain past decision makers in DOI?

Don’t know what’s happening there but you now have to be in car park by c8.30 to guarantee your free all day parking 

[Two-lane]

1 hour ago, Banker said:

Don’t know what’s happening there but you now have to be in car park by c8.30 to guarantee your free all day parking 

I might jump to the conclusion that Kane Ltd is not allowed to make money from operating it as a car park, so let people park free of charge thus depriving DBC of the income they would otherwise have received. Perhaps someone is looking for a compromise which would allow Kane Ltd to earn money from the site without having to construct seven cinemas.

[Andy Onchan]

1 hour ago, Two-lane said:

I might jump to the conclusion that Kane Ltd is not allowed to make money from operating it as a car park, so let people park free of charge thus depriving DBC of the income they would otherwise have received. Perhaps someone is looking for a compromise which would allow Kane Ltd to earn money from the site without having to construct seven cinemas.

Kane should not be allowed to get away without developing the site. It's about time we had an update on the development. Are they going to build anything or not? If yes, when are they going to start?

[Steady Eddie]

4 hours ago, Andy Onchan said:

Kane should not be allowed to get away without developing the site. It's about time we had an update on the development. Are they going to build anything or not? If yes, when are they going to start?

Post covid I would imagine that the hospitality, cinema and retail groups they had lined up to take units simply won’t be risking developing or taking on heavy leases in the IOM for quite some time. You can’t blame them for things slowing up. The economy is totally screwed it’s going to take years to get back to normal. 

[Andy Onchan]

11 minutes ago, Steady Eddie said:

Post covid I would imagine that the hospitality, cinema and retail groups they had lined up to take units simply won’t be risking developing or taking on heavy leases in the IOM for quite some time. You can’t blame them for things slowing up. The economy is totally screwed it’s going to take years to get back to normal. 

Then the site should be handed back and put back out to the market to see what appetite there is. There's more than one player in town.

Edited June 29, 2022 by Andy Onchan

[Banker]

22 minutes ago, Steady Eddie said:

Post covid I would imagine that the hospitality, cinema and retail groups they had lined up to take units simply won’t be risking developing or taking on heavy leases in the IOM for quite some time. You can’t blame them for things slowing up. The economy is totally screwed it’s going to take years to get back to normal. 

We’ll government should get someone else in to redevelop it , shift the crappy cinema from Villa, build a bowling alley & put some flats in to pay the capital costs & get a third party to operate cinemas/bowling alley 

[Steady Eddie]

20 minutes ago, Andy Onchan said:

Then the site should be handed back and put back out to the market to see what appetite there is. There's more than one player in town.

The problem is Kane got a 99 year lease that doesn’t seem to be contingent on the site being immediately developed. As long as they keep paying the lease payment it’s theirs. They did have a deal with Traveledge to develop or take the long term lease of a hotel, they also had a deal with a big UK cinema chain for a multiplex. But post covid you’d be insane to be backing something like that now in the IOM so you can’t really blame Kane for not managing to find insane businesses to back a development. Especially in hotels/hospitality when the whole of the IOM hospitality industry is going down the toilet. I doubt Travelodge will be swayed to invest the thick end of £10M on hearing Rob Callisters totally made up no basis in reality plan to attract 500,000 tourists here. 

[Andy Onchan]

31 minutes ago, Steady Eddie said:

The problem is Kane got a 99 year lease that doesn’t seem to be contingent on the site being immediately developed. As long as they keep paying the lease payment it’s theirs. They did have a deal with Traveledge to develop or take the long term lease of a hotel, they also had a deal with a big UK cinema chain for a multiplex. But post covid you’d be insane to be backing something like that now in the IOM so you can’t really blame Kane for not managing to find insane businesses to back a development. Especially in hotels/hospitality when the whole of the IOM hospitality industry is going down the toilet. I doubt Travelodge will be swayed to invest the thick end of £10M on hearing Rob Callisters totally made up no basis in reality plan to attract 500,000 tourists here. 

Actually I thought the lease was contingent on them developing the site. COVID's all but over so Kane needs to step up and start acting like they mean business.   

[Steady Eddie]

1 hour ago, Andy Onchan said:

Actually I thought the lease was contingent on them developing the site. COVID's all but over so Kane needs to step up and start acting like they mean business.   

The pandemic might be over but we are heading for the biggest recession we’ve seen since the 1970s. You’d need to be mentally impaired to make that sort of investment now. 

[Two-lane]

15 minutes ago, Steady Eddie said:

The pandemic might be over but we are heading for the biggest recession we’ve seen since the 1970s. You’d need to be mentally impaired to make that sort of investment now. 

They have signed a contract. (I can't find the details now, but I recall the price/lease costs were low)

https://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/politics/lord-street-to-be-done-by-may-2023-236211

"’Notwithstanding the above, the separate agreement contains a contractual obligation on the developer to complete its development of the entire site within 36 months of the date of the separate agreement, that is May 4 2020.’"

[Max Power]

9 minutes ago, Two-lane said:

They have signed a contract. (I can't find the details now, but I recall the price/lease costs were low)

https://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/politics/lord-street-to-be-done-by-may-2023-236211

"’Notwithstanding the above, the separate agreement contains a contractual obligation on the developer to complete its development of the entire site within 36 months of the date of the separate agreement, that is May 4 2020.’"

What do the AGs office know about contracts and how to enforce them would be a good question to ask right now? My guess is SFA! 

[Roger Mexico]

13 minutes ago, Two-lane said:

They have signed a contract. (I can't find the details now, but I recall the price/lease costs were low)

https://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/politics/lord-street-to-be-done-by-may-2023-236211

"’Notwithstanding the above, the separate agreement contains a contractual obligation on the developer to complete its development of the entire site within 36 months of the date of the separate agreement, that is May 4 2020.’"

All according to a Written Answer in the July 2020 Tynwald:

The Minister for Infrastructure (Mr Baker): The Department of Infrastructure entered into an Agreement for Sale with Lord Street Development SPV Limited (the Developer/Buyer) and Kane Limited (the Guarantor) on 22nd December 2017 to sell the former Lord Street car park.

The Agreement for Sale contained a provision that the parties would simultaneously on completion of the sale enter into a separate agreement relating to (1) the development of the former Lord Street Car Park and (2) an agreement for the Department to lease back part of the site designated to be a new information centre together with a requirement to provide new public toilets and bus stands/shelters.

The sale was conditional on acceptable planning permission being granted and this has been obtained. The agreement to sell the Lord Street car park contained an obligation to enter into a use restriction which will bind current and future owners and restricts use of the land. 

Completion of the sale took place on 4th May 2020 and the separate agreement was entered into. The separate agreement contains a contractual obligation on the Developer to build bus shelters, public toilets and an information centre. There is a requirement for these parts to be completed within 26 months of the date of the agreement (4th May 2020). On completion of this part the Department will enter into a lease. The terms of the lease have been agreed (as far as practicable) and are contained in the separate agreement.

Notwithstanding the above, the separate agreement contains a contractual obligation on the Developer to complete its development of the entire site within 36 months of the date of the separate agreement, that is 4th May 2020.

Note that they can't really claim Covid as an excuse as they didn't sign till after the start of the pandemic.

[alpha-acid]

2 hours ago, Andy Onchan said:

Actually I thought the lease was contingent on them developing the site. COVID's all but over so Kane needs to step up and start acting like they mean business.   

Covid is nowhere near all but over