MINISTER LAUNCHES £110MILLION BLUESTONE PROJECT

20 Nov 2006 06:15 PM

Bluestone - a unique £110million green holiday village in the heart of West Wales will have a major economic impact on the region, creating 900 full time jobs, boosting local businesses and injecting £32m into the local economy annually.

That was the message from Andrew Davies, Minister for Enterprise, Innovation and Networks today (20 November 2006) when he and Bluestone Chief Executive William McNamara, officially launched the project and announced work would commence immediately.

At a Press conference this morning the Minister will confirm and sign the funding arrangements with William McNamara.

The project will receive £14.5million in grant aid from the Welsh Assembly Government and £4m investment from Finance Wales, alongside an initial £41million cash funding package from Mansford Holdings Plc and Bank of Scotland Corporate. Further funding is provided by equity investors William McNamara and Sir Edward Dashwood and Pembrokeshire County Council is providing a loan.

Bluestone will be one of the county’s biggest employers and is estimated to create a total of 900 full time jobs during construction and operation, comprising 600 direct jobs and 200 indirect jobs during the first phase, plus an additional 100 full time jobs in the second phase.

The Minister said Bluestone would bring wide reaching, long term benefits to Wales:

It is a major undertaking that will not only create hundreds of full time jobs, provide a raft of career choices, boost skills levels and open up new opportunities for local businesses, but will also raise the profile of Wales internationally.

It is the ultimate indigenous sustainable business- the concept was conceived in Wales, it will be developed in Wales, delivered by Welsh people, provide jobs for local people, benefit Welsh businesses; and promote our distinct Welsh culture and heritage internationally.

This is a flagship project for Wales, which will set new standards of quality and become a beacon for eco-tourism and sustainable development within the UK.

Bluestone will play a pivotal role in developing the short breaks market, expanding the tourism season and bring added value to the market.

William McNamara Chief Executive of Bluestone said:

The launch of Bluestone today is the culmination of ten years of work. We set out to create a new direction for tourism in Wales within Pembrokeshire, the most beautiful County in the UK.

Bluestone will be built primarily within The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, a responsibility that we do not take lightly, and we aim to deliver a new generation of eco-tourism with sustainable development principles at its core.

Bluestone will utilise renewable energy on a commercial scale and will build an energy visitor centre, placing Wales at the forefront of sustainable technology in the UK.

The centre will be an important educational resource for schools and industry, while other eco-tourism initiatives include conserving and enhancing habitats, landscape, geological and archaeological resources on site; as well as promoting responsible eco-adventure through partnering off site.

Today is a very important milestone in what has been a very long arduous journey.

Bluestone to date has been supported by many organisations and people from both the public and private sectors. Almost all of those involved at the very early stages are still involved, and I would like to thank them personally for their enthusiasm and their commitment.

Charles Knight Director of equity funders and European property company Mansford Holdings plc added:

This exciting venture is a true partnership between Mansford and William McNamara as majority equity partners, William providing the entrepreneurial spirit, drive & land with Mansford providing £10million equity venture capital, international property development expertise and an innovative corporate structure.

We are delighted to be involved in enabling the project to proceed with a blue chip line up of Welsh private sector investors and entrepreneurs, working with the Public Sector to create a landmark project in the Principality.

Djhoanna Medway Associate Director at Bank of Scotland Corporate said:

Bank of Scotland Corporate is excited to be playing such a major role in this ambitious project and our funding is central to the development. Our speed of response was key as this deal needed to be turned around quickly to ensure the project could be completed within strict time deadlines.

Bluestone anticipate the high quality holiday village will bring in up to 100,000 new high value staying visitors annually, while the two new all weather facilities – a sub tropical water world and snow centre – are each anticipated to attract 250,000 day visitors a year, with the capacity to accommodate one million visitors.

Bluestone represents the first of a new generation of holiday village, catering for the more discerning visitor and targeting the higher end of the market and will provide a completely different experience from anything currently available in the UK.

Extensive research (Holiday Villages Mintel Feb 2006) has identified there is market demand for luxury holiday villages and it is this niche market that Bluestone will be addressing.

First class facilities and exceptional service, coupled with an outward looking ethos of partnering with external organisations to provide bespoke cultural and heritage visits, as well as activities and entertainment - will ensure every guest at Bluestone enjoys a quality experience.

Guests will have a myriad of choices at Bluestone – everything is on the doorstep and Pembrokeshire will be their playground to enjoy a superb natural unspoilt environment which is already accepted as being one of the finest locations for outdoor and adventure activities in the UK.

Gambit Corporate Finance acted as lead adviser to Bluestone and was instrumental in sourcing, structuring and negotiating all the financial aspects of the project with both the Public and Private Sectors. In addition, Gambit’s role, which extended to over six years, involved assisting William McNamara and his team with the preparation of Bluestone’s business plan and forecasts, supervising the extensive due diligence and overall project management.

Frank Holmes, Senior Partner of Gambit, commented:

We are very pleased to have been involved in Bluestone which is an iconic development for Wales. Our long term association with the project is testament to our belief in Management’s track record, vision and tenacity.

Bluestone was given the final all clear from the House of Lords last year, following a complex planning process and outline planning approval by Pembrokeshire County Council in July 2003 and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park in January 2004.

Alfred McAlpine - who were involved with the Eden project - are design and build contractors and Jacobs Consultancy are the engineers. Powell Dobson of Cardiff are the architects responsible for designing Bluestone and the water park, working in conjunction with Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and Pembrokeshire County Council.

Capita Symonds will be appointed project managers and the legal team behind the project were led by Stephen Berry partner at M&A solicitors, Cardiff.

Notes to Editors: