Huge Algarve investment by Oceanico Developments

ENGLISHMAN, IRISHMAN BUY
VILAMOURA'S FIVE COURSES
FOR 125million EUROS

Just three years after deciding to expand their flourishing beach resorts company into golf resorts, Simon Burgess and Gerry Fagan now own arguably Europe’s greatest and finest portfolio of golf courses.
The two men, who, in an equally short time, built Oceanico Developments into Portugal’s leading leisure real estate company, have acquired the Algarve’s golfing crown jewels from Andre Jordan and his Lusotor Golfes company – Vilamoura’s famed five golf courses:
1 Victoria, the newest of the five, designed by Arnold Palmer, which has already hosted the World Cup.
2 The Old Course.
3 Pinhal.
4 Laguna.
5 Millennium.
Cheshire-born Burgess and Irishman Fagan from Drogheda are also the driving force behind the new two-course Amendoeira Golf Resort taking shape at Silves to the west of Vilamoura.
One of the Amendoeira courses is being designed by Nick Faldo and the other by Christy O’Connor junior. Both courses are scheduled for completion by the summer of next year.
Oceanico also own a golf course at Obidos, 45 miles north of Lisbon and two more on the Azores in partnership with the Siram Group.
“Vilamoura is a flagship golf resort for Europe,” said Fagan at a Press Conference where he announced that the Oceanico Group had paid 125 million Euros to add the five Vilamoura courses to their portfolio.
Asked how the group intended to get a return on such a substantial investment, Mr Fagan said that the Vilamoura courses produced a combined profit of 6 million Euros from visitors’ green fees in 2006 when a total of 214,000 rounds were played on the five courses – a growth of 11.5% compared with 2005.
LANDSCAPED GARDENS
“That’s a good return and in the future we will be able to marry the synergy with the other golf courses we own at Silves, Obidos and the Azores,” he said.
Oceanico plans to build the Vilamoura Golf &^ Garden Resorrt, a real estate resort of 170 acres on beautifully landscaped gardens.
The project includes 702 units of low density and high quality, offering golf-playing rights to buyers. It is also possible that a luxury hotel or hotels will be included in the group’s plans.
“Clients buying property though Oceanico at Amendoeira and the Vilamoura Golf & Garden Resort will have a title for membership to all seven courses we own on the Algarve,” said Mr Fagan.