Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1466490
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 MAY 2022 NEWS 16 KURT SANSONE THE former Raffles discotheque in St Andrew's will be trans- formed into a 24-hour child care facility and land the Labour Par- ty €220,000 yearly in rental in- come. The dilapidated historic building is owned by the PL and was granted on a 26-year con- cession to a CE Education and Catering in April last year for a yearly ground rent of €220,000. The ground rent is revised up- wards every five years by 15%. CE Education and Catering, a fully owned subsidiary of CE Holdings based in Mosta, is obliged according to the deed to restore the existing build- ings, build a child care centre and a restaurant. The deed obliges the com- pany to provide a programme that covers "all aspects of child development, including indoor playing area for children and toddlers". It also envisages the construc- tion of an indoor restaurant spread over 375sq.m and a multi-purpose high end venue and lounge area over 983sq.m. Two kiosks on the perimeter of the site may also be included in the plans. It is the company's respon- sibility to obtain all relevant planning permits for the pro- ject. A development applica- tion is currently pending in front of the Planning Authority and the case officer is recom- mending approval. The deed prohibits the com- pany from using the site or any part of it as a discotheque or any form of entertainment apart from that indicated in the request for proposals. Who are CE Holdings? CE Holdings, the parent company, is equally owned by Mario Brincat, Mark Camilleri and Darren Alfred Vassallo La Rosa and has a share capital of €600,000. It holds a minuscule share- holding of 0.13% in Gozo Malta Fixed Link Ltd, which was one of four bidders that showed interest in developing the Gozo-Malta tunnel. Gozo Mal- ta Fixed Link includes amongst its shareholders, Luke Chetcuti of Hugo's fame. CE Education and Catering was granted a temporary and revisable sub-emphyteutical concession on 1 April 2021, documents filed with the pub- lic registry show. The agreed lease payment includes the sum of €13,393 owed to the government, which constitutes the original ground rent when the property was transferred to the PL in 1979. Raffles has a superficial area of 4,269sq.m but the built-up areas cover 1,110sq.m. The Raffles agreement fol- lowed a request for expression of interest for lease and com- mercialisation of the site that was issued in February 2019 as the PL sought to maximise the revenue potential of its proper- ties. Commercialising party property Raffles was a popular disco in the 1980s run by brothers Simon and Mark Grima. The historic building was known as the British Admiralty House and formed part of the sprawl- ing British army barracks in Pembroke before the land was passed on to the Maltese government in the late 1970s ahead of the British military's withdrawal from Malta. Raffles and Australia Hall in St Andrew's had been trans- ferred to the Labour Party by the Labour government in 1979 as compensation for the expropriation of the Freedom Press in Marsa, which the par- ty owned, to make way for the Malta Shipbuilding. Australia Hall was sold in July 2014 to A.H. Development, a subsidiary of the Fino Group, for just €582,000. The PL had said that the final price took into consideration unspecified outstanding debts with the buyers. But the sale is still subject to court proceedings after the party opposed a tax assess- ment by the Inland Revenue Department for an additional payment of €14,426 in capital gains tax. The tax authorities originally valued Australia Hall in excess of €5 million but the PL contested the price tag and this was revised downwards to €2 million. Last year, the PL issued an expression of interest for the disused Rialto Cinema building in Bormla. The party wants to remain the owner of the site but expects a return through a lease agreement with the win- ning bidder. The party had said it wanted the proposed com- mercial activities to be "viable" and of "a high level". The winning bidder had to be selected by December last year. The theatre was used during the election campaign for press conferences given by Robert Abela. The commercialisation of these buildings ensures the party receives a steady stream of income to finance its oper- ations. Parties in debt Earlier this year, MaltaToday reported that One Produc- tions, the Labour media house, owed utility billing company ARMS a total of €1.25 million in pending dues. The Nation- alist Party's Media.Link owed ARMS €3.5 million. Since then, PN leader Bernard Grech has publicly admitted the party has a total debt of €32 million and will be constrained to sell some of its locality clubs to bring the situation under control. Grech also took a dig at the PL over its ownership of large properties, which he said were gifted to the party by past La- bour governments. ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Raffles lands Labour a cool €220,000 yearly Sweet deal: the former Admiralty House, granted to the Labour Party back in the 1970s as compensation for expro- priation of its land, will be transformed into a 24-hour child care facility and Labour €220,000 yearly in rental income