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Two “very serious parties” have indicated interest in the purchase of the Grand Pacific Hotel, says the Fiji National Provident Fund.
FNPF chief executive officer told Fiji Live this was a result of a call for buyers that the fund had made recently, following a decision to classify the building as a non-performing asset and to sell it off.
“We have received quite a few expressions of interest but there are one or two very serious parties,” Taito said.
“As you know we already put out EOIs last year and early this year for those who want to purchase GPH, so negotiations with interested parties are continuing. There has been progress but we will let you know when we cross that bridge.”
Since the FNPF bought into GPH in 2005, it has little success with it and an intent to revamp the “Grand Old Lady,” as the GPH is affectionately known, had fallen through when FNPF’s equity partner in the project, the Fiji Investment Corporation Ltd, was dismantled by the current government.
Another attempt last year to look for a joint venture partner to redevelop the property also failed, and now the fund has decided to pull out of the project all together.
FNPF’s initial foray into GPH was met with controversy when auditor Ernst & Young raised concerns that the fund had bought the property without any independent valuation and that it relied instead on valuation by the Fiji Investment Corporation Ltd.
The GPH building occupies 1758 square metres of the overall site comprising 2.14 hectares of land along the Suva Harbour foreshore.
The hotel was built in 1914 by the Union Steamship Company to serve the needs of passengers on its transpacific routes.
It has been a popular place to stay for many famous guests such as Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, Somerset Maugham, James A Michener, Queen Elizabeth II and members of her royal family.
