The Fuerte takes over the management of the Marbella Free Time Residence

More than two years after the Marbella Free Time Residence officially closed its doors, the countdown to its reopening has begun. ... And it will do so with a project 'made in Marbella'. Today, Wednesday, El Fuerte Group won the public auction of the bidding process opened by the Ministry of Economy, Finance, and European Funds for the hotel exploitation of the facilities, which took place in the auditorium of the department headed by Carolina España, in the Torretriana Building, Sevilla.

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The hotel chains Fuerte and Barceló compete for the Marbella Free Time Residence

The business group, which participated in the bidding through Ritusa SA, a company based in the five-star El Fuerte Hotel in Marbella and whose sole administrator is the president of Fuertegroup, the owning company, among others, of El Fuerte and Amare Hotels, won the auction with an annual fee offer of 5.02 million euros, which is 25 percent above the minimum price set in the bid (4 million euros). The amount was more than enough for the Marbella company to prevail over the only competitor who, as SUR previously reported, remained in the bid after the exclusion of Sierra Blanca States Epic: the hotel chain Barceló, which barely raised its offer to 4.1 million euros.

The company must deposit a 9 million euro bond and assume a minimum investment of 50 million euros over a period of fifteen years, and must open by 2029

The highest bid in the auction means the provisional award of this contract for the hotel exploitation of the third and last Trade Union Holiday City opened in Spain, inaugurated in 1962, for the next 75 years, with the possibility of extending it to 99. Now, Ritusa must deposit a definitive guarantee of 9 million euros and formalize the contract with the Ministry of Finance. From there, a three-year countdown will begin for the complex to reopen its doors.

Investment and clause

The award implies that the Marbella-based company must invest at least 50 million euros in the complex. It does not have to be all before the opening, as the conditions give a 15-year period to do so, but the business group faces not only the challenge of getting the Free Time Residence ready but also the need for it to grow. The Marbella City Council, which signed an agreement with the Ministry, not only changed the use of the plot to hotel use but also increased the buildable area by 30,000 square meters over the total existing built surface (23,395 square meters on almost 197,502); a change that is essential to amortize the high investment and support the payment of the fee, which will also increase annually according to the evolution of the Hotel Price Index (IPH) published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

The award includes an "anti-speculation" clause that establishes that the surface right or the control of the awarded company cannot be transferred until the investment requirement has been met

The award includes an "anti-speculation" clause that establishes that the surface right or the control of the awarded company cannot be transferred until the investment requirement established as an additional guarantee (to invest at least 50 million euros in the property in the first 15 years) to ensure the successful exploitation is met. And if it is done later, it will require the authorization of the Andalusian Regional Government.

From costing money to generating wealth

The Minister of Economy, Carolina España, has highlighted this bidding as a demonstration of the new management of the Regional Government to promote the enhancement of public heritage that is unused or underutilized, as the complex "will generate employment and wealth for Marbella and Málaga after years of multimillion-dollar losses for all Andalusians and Malagueños."

"It made no sense to keep the plot and the building of the old free time residence unused, facing the cost of its maintenance every year," the minister recalled, convinced that this new path will serve to give it a new use and will generate employment for the area, bringing new wealth to Marbella, Málaga, and Andalucía.

España recalled that there is already a precedent for the transformation of an old Free Time Residence, that of Cádiz, successfully converted into a commercial and 4-star hotel complex by Q-Hotels, which employs around five hundred people.