Andrew Strauss has announced his retirement from professional cricket after leading his country in 50 of his 100 Tests. In a press conference held yesterday (29th August), Strauss stated he will be taking time to think about the next challenge he would like for himself and how this might encompass the passion he still has for the game. During his captaincy Strauss became a savvy early investor in a 2 bedroom villa at Freedom Bay Eco Resort in St Lucia. He will also be involved with The Andrew Strauss Cricket Academy on-island which aims to benefit the local community by providing quality coaching and cricketing facilities for St Lucians.
Strauss is due to visit Freedom Bay in January 2013 to see the progress made on his holiday home and even before his departure from the Test team he was hoping to spend some time with his family relaxing on-island, something he will have more time to do now. Strauss says: “It is already one year on since my decision to invest in a property at Freedom Bay and I am very happy to have backed one of the few ‘winning’ developments at the moment. I absolutely love St Lucia and can’t wait until I can spend some time with my family relaxing and soaking-up some Caribbean sun at my holiday home once it is completed. I am even happier that my investment is safe and bringing me a decent return.”
Strauss first met Developer of Freedom bay, Robert Whitton at a fundraising event for The Lord’s Taverners Charity. It soon became apparent they both shared a love of both cricket and the Caribbean; Strauss having visited the island numerous times on tour Both were keen on giving something back through a charitable project and so the idea of The Andrew Strauss Cricket Academy came about.
Freedom Bay, is an outstanding eco-luxury resort development, with prime real estate located uniquely, within a UNESCO World Heritage site at the foot of the iconic Pitons. It is structured to be owned in two ways: deeded fractional ownership or owning a villa outright.
Investors at Freedom Bay have the assurance they are investing with the best as the first internationally branded five star hotelier will be moving to the island. Additionally, the architect behind the development is the renowned Richard Hywel Evans of Studio RHE. His adventurous and optimistic design solutions that combine contemporary design with natural materials and environmental sensitivity have won numerous industry awards.
Freedom Bay has already been recognised as a winner of the Best Fractional Development category at the OPP Awards For Excellence 2011 and again in 2012, and unlike some of the novice Developers in the Caribbean, Founder & Chairman, Robert Whitton has a great track record and has transacted over £3.5 billion of commercial & residential property deals in UK, Europe, India and the Caribbean.
The property offering is split into two sections: The Hotel and the Private Residential Estate.
In the hotel section, early investors have the opportunity to purchase a 1/52nd fraction of a villa, a whole hotel villa or a land plot on which to build their villa. All have a sponsored exit strategy – which is often the ‘Achilles heel’ of fractional ownership. There is still opportunity to invest in the hotel stock at Freedom Bay which consists of detached villas, each with their own pool.
The exclusive private residential estate is to be launched in January 2013 including super luxury villas and various sized apartments. These will also benefit from the five star hotel concierge services.
Freedom Bay provides the opportunity to purchase fractions with Cash or via UK government approved Self Invested Personal Pension Plans (SIPPs). Cash investors have the choice of using fractions themselves or receiving Lifestyle Own Use or Rental Income from the Operator.
See: www.freedombaystlucia.com