Suva's Grand

Going, Going, Gone!

Pacific

Hotel: £F90,000

After some months of extra ordinary delay (see “PIM ” of June last, page 19) the price which the Government of Fiji is to pay the Union Steamship Co. Ltd. for the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva was fixed by arbitration on August 21 at £90,000.

WHEN the Union Co., at the end of 1958, gave formal notice that it would not continue the lease which it had held for 50 years, and would surrender the property to the Government, it was reported that it placed on the property a walk-in-walk-out value of £105,000 including furniture and fittings.

The Government took over the property at the end of March last and sold it to Cathay Hotels Ltd. of Singapore, the price to be what ever the Government had to pay the Company on a valuation to be agreed upon.

But Government and Company could not agree on what was “current valuation”; and so they had recourse to arbitrators.

Each side brought witnesses to give expert valuation. When three witnesses were called by the Com pany, valuations were given respec tively at £133,800, £122,110 and £98,441.

Of two witnesses called by the Government, one gave a valuation of £69,515 and another a valuation of £65,275.

Evidence of valuation was given for the Union Co. by Mr. W. A.

Gordon (New Zealand), Mr. W. A.

Marlow (of Fiji Builders Ltd., Suva) and Mr. S. A. Tetzner (of Tetzner & Bygrave). For the Government, by Suva architects G.

J. Larsen and R. H. Stephenson, and Mr. K. Singh (of Narain Con struction Co.).

Valuation was given on a number of different bases, hence the wide variation in figures.

The valuation finally arrived at was on the basis of the GPH as a building only, not as a hotel busi ness, so the question of its earning power was not considered.

However, it was stated that the tax-paid nett profits in recent years were: 1955, £14,122; 1956, £13,647; 1957, £15,443; and 1958, £17,633.

Mr. Gordon said that with a com paratively small expenditure on modernisation those earnings could be substantially increased. He con sidered that on the amount claimed by the Union Co. the profits would be such that after years the building could fall down and the

capital would still be intact.

Evidence was given that the Government had some time ago paid the Union Co. £50,000 on ac count, pending settlement of valua tion. Cathay Hotel (Fiji) Ltd. had paid the Union Co. £lO,OOO for furnishings and sundry equipment.

Hotels of the Crown Colony of Fiji Ltd. another tenderer for the

hotel, had offered £BO,OOO, included the furnishings. Thr the best firm tender.

Costs are to be paid by parties.

Although Cathay Ltd. was represented in the procee; representatives of that Co. present in the gallery durini. three-days’ hearing.