Only Six Months in and 2007 Already a Banner Year for Island Global Yachting

19 Jun 2007

Company Continues Successful Expansion and Development While Establishing New Benchmark for Marina Experiences

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA (June 19, 2007): In just a few short years, Island Global Yachting (IGY) has emerged as one of the world’s premier owners, developers and managers of luxury marinas and yachting lifestyle destinations. Establishing new standards of quality and service for the marina industry, IGY has garnered an outstanding reputation throughout key global yachting and nautical tourism areas from the Caribbean to the Arabian Gulf. Further to this, the company has realized tremendous expansion, not only through acquisition and development, but also from contracted marina management agreements.

"Already, 2007 has truly been an unprecedented year for IGY,” said Andrew L. Farkas, CEO of Island Global Yachting. “Since January, we have announced the acquisition of five new marinas and mega projects including: American Yacht Harbor in St. Thomas and the Montauk Yacht Club in Long Island, as well as the grand opening of our signature Yacht Haven Grande in St. Thomas. We have also contracted to buy two additional key Caribbean marinas which will be publicly announced in the coming weeks. With 15 world-class marina locations under ownership or management and more than $400 million of equity, IGY expects to accelerate its growth over the coming year and continue to fulfill our mission to develop the world’s definitive brand for luxury marinas and yachting lifestyle destinations.”

IGY HIGHLIGHTS 2007:

  • The grand opening of Yacht Haven Grande in March. This luxurious mixed-use yachting lifestyle destination in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, combines a 48-slip megayacht marina, 12 ultra-luxury residences and international quality office space with an array of fabulous retail, dining and entertainment options. With 85% of the retail component already leased to tenants such as Bulgari, Louis Vuitton, Coach, Jewels and Diamonds International, the retail componen will be fully built-out and occupied in time for the winter season.
  • Condominium construction will be complete by the end of July with reservations for sales of 60% of the units in place. Phase II is expected to commence within 45 days with the construction of 25 additional slips fronting the Yacht Club.  Advance bookings for the 2007/08 yachting season are extremely strong.
  • IGY’s acquisition of Sun Resorts International (SRI) and its subsidiary Sun Resorts Management (SRM). Through the acquisition of SRM, IGY assumed management of an additional 11 marinas -- seven in Texas and four in the Caribbean. As a part of the transaction, IGY acquired American Yacht Harbor in St. Thomas outright and all of SRI’s interest in three other Caribbean facilities. The Sun Resorts acquisition added 442 more berths to IGY’s Caribbean offerings.
  • IGY’s acquisition of the historic Montauk Yacht Club Resort & Marina on New York’s Long Island. Acclaimed as one of the United States’ top resort marina facilities, the Montauk Yacht Club encompasses over 35 acres and includes a 232-slip full-service marina which accommodates vessels up to 175 feet. In addition, the property features 107 deluxe guestrooms and villa suites, restaurants and lounges, the La Bella Vita spa, private beach and extensive recreational offerings.
  • In March, IGY and Nakheel sold an astonishing 380 marina berths in just three weeks for the Anchor Marina project situated on The Palm Jumeirah in Dubai. Anchor Marina is the first in a series of marinas and yachting lifestyle destinations to be developed in Dubai by IGY on behalf of Nakheel & Istithmar Leisure and is one of a rare handful of marinas on The Palm Jumeirah.  In the coming years, IGY is contracted to design, develop and manage up to 40,000 berths for Nakheel & Istithmar Leisure.

In addition, IGY has tremendous incremental liquidity on hand and is continuing to expand its footprint globally. IGY recently received approval, in joint venture with Interlink of Puerto Rico and Applied Development Holdings of Hong Kong, to commence the development of a five-star resort on approximately 650-acres at Beef Island in the British Virgin Islands. This summer, IGY also will be commencing the re-development of its Rodney Bay Marina facility in St. Lucia and construction of a shipyard facility at Simpson Bay in St. Maarten. As well, the company along with development partners, will soon break ground to build and operate the first luxury marina facility on Anguilla.

“It is definitely an exciting time for us at Island Global Yachting,” said Charles Garner, president of IGY. “Beyond the aforementioned projects that are already underway, we are working on a huge pipeline of opportunities for 2008 and beyond. We have projects under development in the United States, the Caribbean, Mexico, Europe and the Middle East. This phenomenal growth and success is certainly a testament to the outstanding team of development, engineering, marina operations and hospitality professionals that make up our global IGY family.”

Jeff Boyd, IGY’s Executive Vice President of Marina Operations continued, “The collection of marinas that IGY is creating is unmatched in our industry. I have owned and operated marinas in the United States and the Caribbean for over two decades and no one has ever provided the breadth of quality and services that IGY can offer. IGY’s one-of-a-kind Pan-Caribbean network of world-class facilities and services is the gold standard for discriminating yacht owners and captains and is being replicated by IGY in the major yachting centers throughout the world.”

ABOUT ISLAND GLOBAL YACHTING
From the islands of the Caribbean to the azure waters of the Arabian Gulf and other beautiful yachting destinations around the world, IGY is redefining the very idea of luxury marina experiences. Founded in 2005 by Andrew L. Farkas, IGY focuses on acquiring, controlling and/or servicing luxury-yacht marinas and the surrounding upland real estate properties. Island Global Yachting marinas operate under the signature Yacht Haven Grande collection and the IGY series brands, as well as several private labels.  Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, IGY also has offices in New York, NY; St. Thomas, USVI; and Dubai, UAE. For more information, please visit www.igymarinas.com.