Alhama Paramount theme park promoters deny entering bankruptcy

The difficulties of the Santa Mónica group could affect the Paramount project in Alhama

Following the revelation this week that Santa Mónica Sports, the holding company of the group which includes Premursa, has been forced into bankruptcy proceedings, a statement has been issued strongly denying that the prospects of the Paramount theme park in Alhama de Murcia are in any way affected by the news.

Part of the denial shown on the Premursa website reads as follows: “Premursa S.A. has not called the creditors’ meeting ... (the) information (published in the media) refers to another company – Grupo Santa Mónica Sports S.L. – which does not hold any share in PREMURSA THEME PARK S.A.”.

However, the same webpage on which this statement is published also features the following information in the “About Us” section:

“The company is made up by Santa Mónica Financial Services, Región de Murcia Turística (REMUTURSA) and Instituto de Fomento de la Región de Murcia (INFO)”, highlighting the fact that Premursa is undeniably (unless a restructuring has taken place which is not reflected on the webpage) a part of the group which is facing possible bankruptcy and liquidation. Some reports published in the regional press suggest that the total amount of outstanding debt owed by the Santa Mónica group could be around 90 million euros.

Premursa was appointed by former regional president Ramón Luis Valcárcel as the company in charge of developing and seeking finance for the Paramount theme park in Alhama when Pedro Cruz was regional minister in charge of tourism.

The project was first presented in the Spring of 2010.

It is true that the bankruptcy proceedings of Santa Mónica Sports do not directly affect the Paramount venture, but nonetheless this development will do nothing to allay the fears harboured by some that the theme project is not on such a robust footing as could be hoped. It is now three years since the first stone was symbolically laid at the 133-hectare project, but with construction originally scheduled to finish in autumn of this year so the park could open for business, it has not actually started yet.

The final permits for the project cannot be issued until a multi-million-euro bank guarantee is issued for the project, according to Alhama Town Hall sources quoted in the regional press, a guarantee which as of this moment has not been presented.

No news has been received of any investors being found for the Paramount project, and a 16-million-euro EU subsidy which was granted last year will only be forthcoming once the park is completed and operational. In the case of some of company president Jesús Samper’s other business interests, such as Real Murcia football club, cash injections have been made by Santa Mónica Sports in the past to keep the concerns afloat, but this option has now been closed off not only for the football club but also for Premursa.  

In other words, funding MUST now be found from outside sources if the construction contracts awarded to Ferrovial for 52 million euros and CHM Obras e Infrastructuras for 20 million euros are to be started. A one-year period of grace has been agreed with Paramount, but still no announcement of funding having been found has been forthcoming.

The last documented piece of news relating to the search for financing was published in November of 2014 when it was announced that Seabird Capital, a Madrid-based company, would be joining the forces of the public entity Invest in Spain, to assist in the search for capital.

In June last year Murcian native, Jaime García-Legaz, Secretary of State for commerce, had offered his support, and that of the Spanish government, for the project, raising hopes that backers could still be found for the park to go ahead.

This new situation certainly doesn’t mean that the Paramount project is dead and buried, but on the other hand neither does it give any grounds for optimism that work on the site is any closer to starting or that the revised completion date of late 2016 can be achieved. On the contrary, it will lead to renewed speculation regarding the future of one of the most ambitious macro-projects in the Region of Murcia and the Costa Cálida, and until solid funding is achieved this speculation will undoubtedly continue.
 

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