A bankruptcy judge finally approved the sale of the troubled Palm House Hotel to a U.S. affiliate of London + Regional Properties for $39.6 million.
London + Regional Properties, a U.K.-based luxury hotel and resort company, beat Related Cos. to buy the former failed EB-5 project in Palm Beach, according to the Palm Beach Daily News.
The judge declined to accept a last minute bid by Wellington developer Glenn Straub whose lawyer said the developer was prepared to pay $40.6 million for the property, according to the Daily News. But the judge ruled it down, saying it came too late in the process. The bankruptcy judge also previously ruled down a “credit bid” by Straub, which would allow him to make an offer without putting down any cash for the condo-hotel project at 160 Royal Palm Way, according to the Daily News.
London + Regional Properties is a private real estate investment firm with almost $12 billion in assets. The company owns the 453-room London Hilton hotel on Park Lane in London’s Mayfair neighborhood.
Some of the proceeds of the sale would go toward paying EB-5 investors who invested $500,000 in the project in order to get a green card. The investors have not yet been paid back.
Federal officials have charged the former developer of the Palm House, Robert Matthews, with multiple counts of wire and bank fraud and money laundering over the development.
[Palm Beach Daily News] — Keith Larsen