A four-bedroom villa on the water’s edge in Oil Nut Bay, British Virgin Islands, is on the market for $10,950,000. Courtesy Knight Frank
A four-bedroom villa on the water’s edge in Oil Nut Bay, British Virgin Islands, is on the market for $10,950,000. Courtesy Knight Frank

A sailors’ haven in the Caribbean for Dh40 million



The delightfully named Oil Nut Bay is set on Virgin Gorda, one of the biggest Caribbean islands that make up the British Virgin Islands.

The bay is on the eastern side of the island, which is 22.5 kilometres from the nearby Tortola and Beef Islands airports, accessible either by boat, private airplane or helicopter.

It has been transformed into a 121-hectare community with just 88 homes.

Its developer is the Victor International Corporation, which was founded by David Johnson, who started as a house builder in Detroit but later branched out into creating luxury Caribbean resorts.

Take a look around the property here

He has reportedly spent US$100 million on the infrastructure of Oil Nut Bay, which has a town hall, boutique shops, a beach club and a marina that can house huge yachts of up to 88 metres.

For instance, the company has developed an underwater and in-ground electric power network capable of generating two megawatts, able to keep every light and appliance in all of the homes powered at the same time.

Internet, mobile and data connections are also available, and for those who can’t be torn away from work there is an on-site business centre, a children’s club and nature centre to keep children entertained.

Oil Nut Bay has been designed as a sustainable, low-density project, with 50 per cent of the land dedicated to open space, and individual land plots range between 0.1 hectares and 7.2 hectares in size.

Solar power systems from rooftop panels generate electricity for desalination plants, air conditioning, refrigeration and hot water. And reverse osmosis turns seawater potable for drinking and use in swimming pools, while grey water from rain collection and sinks and toilets is treated for use in landscaping.

This US$10.95m home, Seashell Beach Villa, is a beachfront property with four bedrooms – two master suites with views of the ocean and a pair of guest suites. All four rooms have en suite bathrooms with outdoor showers.

The property boasts open-plan floors with a combined office and sitting room, a fitness studio, staff quarters and a chef’s kitchen.

There is also a large terrace outside overlooking a private infinity pool and a rock waterfall. It is set on a half-acre site.

The property is being marketed to Middle East investors by Knight Frank in Dubai.

Q&A

Aren’t the British Virgin Islands just a tax haven?

That depends on who you talk to. The British prime minister David Cameron said the reputation of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), and other overseas territories including the Cayman Islands, as tax havens was “not fair”, as they had opened up their tax systems for wider scrutiny. In May, the BVI opened its report system to the US government to comply with its Fair and Compliant Transactions Act. However, reports this year said that more than 21,000 clients from China and Hong Kong – including senior members of the Communist Party – held BVI-registered offshore bank accounts. This week, the British government vowed to crack down on suspected money laundering by way of offshore companies acquiring London properties. According to Transparency International, 38 per cent of the 36,342 properties in London held by offshore companies were registered in the BVI.

What is there to do on the islands?

There are more than 50 islands to explore, and the pleasant climate and calm currents within this part of the Caribbean make it a favourite among sailors. On Tortola, the biggest of the islands, there are museums, botanical gardens, a national park and even a rum distillery to visit. Virgin Gorda, meanwhile, is the second-most populous island. The 21 square kilometre island features a series of hiking trails, a nature reserve, old ruins and several five-star resorts nearby, including Victor International’s own Biras Creek.

So why buy Seashell Beach Villa?

This is clearly aimed at someone looking for a luxury holiday home, and that luxury yachts are available for lease makes it attractive for sailing and yachting enthusiasts. The property can also be leased through a club membership scheme in which the owner receives 60 per cent of the rental income and the developer 40 per cent. There is also the potential for capital appreciation, although the latest Knight Frank report said that property prices in the BVI fell 7 per cent last year.

mfahy@thenational.ae

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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

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Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

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Started: May 2018

Founder: Arjun Mohan

Based: Dubai

Size: 23 employees 

Funding: Raised $5.8m in a seed fund round in December 2018. Backers include Y Combinator, Beco Capital, Venturesouq, Paul Graham, Peter Thiel, Paul Buchheit, Justin Mateen, Matt Mickiewicz, SOMA, Dynamo and Global Founders Capital

Super 30

Produced: Sajid Nadiadwala and Phantom Productions
Directed: Vikas Bahl
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Srivastav, Mrinal Thakur
Rating: 3.5 /5

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Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
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Date of launch: November 2016

Founder: David Tobias

Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers

Sector: Technology

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Stage: Embarking on a Series A round to raise $5 million in the first quarter of 2019 with a 20 per cent stake

Investors: Seed round was self-funded with “millions of dollars” 

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Forewords by Jacqueline Bisset and Charlotte Rampling, ACC Art Books

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Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion

The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.

Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".

The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.

He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.

"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.

As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”