Panlilio firm to sell 30% of Friday’s

Panlilio-led Boulevard Holdings Inc. (BHI) plans to sell a 30-percent stake in Friday’s Boracay Beach Resort (FBBR) to pursue a P600-million expansion program, following the resolution of a land dispute that disrupted operations of this leisure estate for months.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, BHI said property consulting firm Jones Lang LaSalle had accepted its mandate to seek investors to acquire 30 percent of Friday’s Holdings Inc., owner and operator of Friday’s Boracay.

“The strategic change in equity structure is in connection with the planned expansion and development of its beach resort to improve its facilities by constructing up to 100 keys to 120 keys to service the increasing 30,000 repeat guests from all over the world who have enjoyed their stay at FBBR,” BHI said.

The expansion costs are estimated at P600 million, based on a master plan designed by Palafox and Associates for FBBR, the company said.

BHI has regained control of the resort after months of dispute with a member of the family that had sold the lot on which the resort stands.

The company reported in February 2014 that “armed civilian men” led by a scion of the family that sold the lot years ago had occupied the hotel-resort.

Charges of forgery filed by the previous owner have been dismissed since, affirming BHI’s ownership of the property.

BHI said it had paid P40 million to buy the Boracay property, a deal which was approved by court with finality in 2009.

After regaining control of the property, BHI started reconstruction of the resort in October of last year.

As of May this year, BHI reported that the resort was back in shape.

BHI said it had injected P120 million in cash to the Boracay resort since October, citing the need “to set the recovery on a solid path.”

About P87.8 million was spent to acquire more land while about P32.2 million was spent for fixing the pool, buildings, maintaining a security contingent, replacement of all “stolen” furniture and television sets, payment of legal billings as well as the construction of a new pool.

The P600-million expansion now unveiled by BHI is more aggressive than the earlier plan to expand capacity from 50 to 65 keys by the summer of 2016.