Begbies Traynor Group plc : Begbies Traynor achieves sale of Treasure Island

Begbies Traynor achieves sale of Treasure Island

January 09, 2012

Administrators at corporate recovery specialists Begbies Traynor have achieved a sale of the Treasure Island attraction on Eastbourne seafront after nine months of protracted negotiations.

The deal, which has been approved by Eastbourne Borough Council, sees the full rent arrears paid to the council.

The entertainment venue closed in March 2011 and Begbies Traynor partners Jon Beard and Neil Mather were appointed adminstrators to Coasta Ltd, the company that had been running Treasure Island.

Treasure Islandsuffered a break in some weeks after it closed and security was subsequently stepped up while Begbies Traynor and their appointed agents GVA dealt with a number of offers of interest, all of which required detailed analysis before being presented to Eastbourne Borough Council which is the landlord of the entertainment centre.

A number of early expressions of interest failed to materialise as formal and acceptable offers and Begbies Traynor and their agents continued to hold negotiations with interested parties.

Eventually a deal with TI (Eastbourne) Ltd was agreed and the company has taken the lease for an undisclosed sum which includes the rent arrears paid to the council.

Mr Beard said: "We have worked hard with the Council and various interested parties to enable the sale of the business and secure a new tenant for the park.

"Although the negotiations were long and somewhat tortuous we are pleased to have achieved what we regard as the best possible result for Eastbourne which ultimately means that this much-loved attraction should now be able to reopen.

"We understand that the purchasers will shortly be announcing their plans for the site and we wish them well with their new venture."

Eastbourne Borough Council had stated its commitment publicly. A spokesperson said: "Treasure Island is an important attraction on Eastbourne seafront and the council was very keen to see a positive outcome for this key location."