Eventful August for Portomaso

Project registers record sales and international awards

August was an exhilarating and eventful month for Portomaso, being a record breaking month in terms of apartment sales while receiving two prestigious international awards.

Throughout August, 17 apartments were sold for a total of nearly Lm3 million, despite the fact that August is normally the slowest month in the year.

In this regard, Maurice Tabone, Portomaso Sales Director, commented that one of the best endorsements of the project is the fact that seven Portomaso residents this year purchased a second apartment as an investment. The excellence of the project, high capital appreciation, the demand for rental within the project and the current state of the stock market all contribute to this turn of events.

Further highlights of the month include the fact that the organisers of the International Property Awards and The British Association of Landscape Industries both announced that Portomaso has received an award in the 2001 nominations.

In the case of the International Property Award one may justifiably claim a hat-trick since this is the third year running that the project has received this award. These awards are the equivalent of the 'Oscars' in the international development world and last year's award was won in the face of competition from 37 residential/marina developments world wide including 16 from countries in the Mediterranean.

With regard to the award for outstanding landscaping, this is expected to be one of the two top awards for non UK entries. The landscape architects were the renowned American Company Laubmann Reed & Associates of the USA while the implementation was in the hands of Peter Calamatta of The Garden Shop of San Gwann.

The presentation ceremony for the awards will take place at Royal Ascot, UK on 8 November in the case of the International Property Awards while the landscaping award ceremony takes place on 16 November at the New Connaught Rooms, Covent Garden, London. Senior Executives of the company shall attend the ceremony.

In the meantime the development is approaching completion. The new Hilton Malta has been in operation for 18 months and has proved a great success enjoying occupancy of 92 per cent in the first six months of the year. Major companies are now operating from the Portomaso Tower while the Marina is in full operation.

More than 90 apartments have now been completed and handed over to owners while a further 80 apartments are nearing completion. 35 per cent of buyers are Maltese while the rest hail from 23 different countries.

George Fenech, Managing Director of the Tumas Group and the driving force behind the project, commented that it is gratifying to note that the perseverance and boldness shown by the company in implementing this development is paying dividends. Apart from the obvious positive impact on the local economy, the considerable international editorial press coverage is helping to upgrade Malta’s international image.