- A Swiss real estate group has announced that it has acquired the only private property on Île Sainte-Marguerite, off Cannes.
- He plans to set up, in addition to 12 luxury rooms, an open-air cinema and even an aesthetic clinic.
- If the goal is to make it a tourist residence or a hotel, it's "no" warns the local town hall.
It was proposed for the tidy sum of 45 million euros. The Grand Jardin, the only private property on Sainte-Marguerite Island, off Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes), has just been bought by Ultima Capital, the Swiss real estate group announced in a press release. If the final amount of the transaction is not specified, the new buyer has however explained what he intended to do with this centuries-old estate of 1.3 hectares. And there are a few surprises.
The listed group, which already owns 42 prestigious hotels, residences, chalets and villas, plans on site "an ambitious investment program" to make the Large Garden and its 1,200 m2 living space "an exclusive destination on the Côte d ' Azure, ”he warns. Should we understand a commercial resort for wealthy tourists? After renovation, the place will in any case offer a dozen rooms, but also, in addition to a swimming pool and a helipad, an "open-air cinema" and, even more surprisingly, "an aesthetic clinic", announces Ultima Capital.
Make it a luxury resort? The town hall says "no"
But if the goal is to make it a tourist residence or a hotel, it is "no" immediately warns the local town hall. “This is what we understand from the communication made by the new buyers. We had no contact with them, says Thierry Migoule, the chief of staff of the mayor of Cannes, interviewed by 20 Minutes . This project would involve changing the destination of the plot, something the PLU prohibits. "
The city of Cannes, which has launched a procedure to make its Lérins Islands a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has decided to "sanctify" them. In 2018, the municipality mobilized in particular for the State to give up selling the Batéguier nautical base to a private person, a 3.204 m2 plot west of Sainte-Marguerite Island.
Through a company buyout
For Le Grand jardin, the Swiss group would only have bought the shares of the previously owner company, the Town Hall not having received a “declaration of intention to alienate”, affirms Thierry Migoule. Acquired in 2008 by Vijay Mallya, the property was returned to the hands of real estate agents two years ago after the businessman's setbacks. In early 2017, the Indian, in particular at the head of a Formula 1 team, was arrested for a debt of $ 1.4 billion owed to bankers.
The estate, surrounded by a wall built in its time by Cardinal Richelieu, notably welcomed Louis XIV or the Governor of Provence. Despite its announced works, Ultima Capital has promised to maintain the “historic character” of the site. Last year, a PC-PS candidate for mayor of Cannes had demanded that Le Grand jardin be bought by a public actor.
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