Signing of Memorandum of Unde

RNS Number : 5805L

Minoan Group PLC

14 January 2009

 



 14 January 2009

MINOAN GROUP PLC

('Minoan' or 'the Company')

MINOAN SIGNS MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH SIX SENSES RESORTS & SPAS  

Minoan Group Plc, the AIM-quoted leisure resort developer, is pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding ('MOU') with Six Senses Resorts & Spas ('Six Senses') for a hotel development in its luxury resort at Cavo Sidero, Crete. The MOU applies to management agreements covering operation of the resort and spa at the White Sands location of the Project. 

Highlights

• Second hotel management agreement with a renowned brand

• The hotel being built in the White Sands location will be managed and operated by Six Senses Resorts & Spas

• Previous hotel management agreement with Kempinski Hotels for the hotel being built in Grandes Bay

• The Environmental Impact Assessment in respect of the Cavo Sidero Project has been approved by the Greek Government. As announced previously, this approval is the subject of an appeal to the Greek Conseil d'État.

Six Senses is a resort and spa management and development company established in 1995, which currently operates fifteen resorts located in Maldives, Thailand, Vietnam, Oman and Fiji, with imminent openings in Spain and Jordan. The Six Senses Spa brand is a key element of these properties, in addition to another sixteen stand alone or hosted locations in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Six Senses Spas are scheduled to open in early 2009 in Central Paris and London. 

The Six Senses brand is one of the most environmentally friendly hotel brands in the world. It focuses on high end intelligent comforts and luxuries to which clients have become accustomed, which can still be enjoyed whilst addressing the challenge of depleting natural resources and global climate change. 

The brand provides exceptional guest experiences that correspond with Six Senses Core Purpose: To create innovative and enlightening experiences that rejuvenate our guests' love of SLOW LIFE: Sustainable, Local, Organic, Wholesome - Learning, Innovative, Fun, Experiences.

Six Senses co-operates fully with Forum for the Future, who, in February 2007, signed a Partnership Agreement with Minoan for the integrated tourism and land management of Cavo Sidero. Forum for the Future brings a major sustainability resource of the highest calibre to the Project.

Additional agreements are in place, including one with PGA Golf Management Ltd, for the management of the golf complex. 

Minoan Chairman, Christopher Egleton, said: 'This is the second international hotel group to join our partnership. I am delighted that such a high quality brand as Six Senses has recognised Cavo Sidero's positioning as one of the most exciting and sustainable resorts in the Mediterranean. The signing of the MOU with Six Senses provides further confirmation of Minoan's commitment to the environmental credentials of the Cavo Sidero resort.' 

Sonu Shivdasani, Chairman and CEO of Six Senses, is equally delighted: 'We are delighted to be working with Minoan on this exciting development and we look forward to bringing our unique brand to Crete. We are very proud that this project will be the global launch of the exceptional Six Senses Evalution brand in such a prestigious development.' 

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For further information visit www.minoangroup.com or contact: 

Christopher Egleton                          Minoan Group Plc                       07808 722022 

Bill Cole                                          Minoan Group Plc                        01689 897397

Jeremy Garrett-Cox/Nicola Marrin   Seymour Pierce Limited                020 7107 8000

Nick Rome/Gemma O'Hara             Bishopsgate Communications Ltd   020 7562 3350

Alan Frame                                     Westport Communications Ltd       020 7404 7878

Notes to Editors 

ABOUT MINOAN 

Minoan is a leisure property development company devoted to turning the 25 sq km peninsular site at Cavo Sidero, in Eastern Crete, into a major new, environmentally sensitive, premium quality holiday resort destination. 

The development will comprise of six villages with a mix of luxury hotels, villas and apartments providing a total of 7,000 beds. Amenities will include a golf complex with a total of 45 holes, a theatre, an athletics complex, tennis centre and water sports facilities. The Company has taken great care to ensure that building density will be extremely low with a build footprint of less than one per cent. 

The Peninsula is already recognised as a tourist destination due to its natural beauty - local attractions adjacent to the Cavo Sidero Resort include the Holy Monastery of Toplou, the ruins of the ancient town of Itanos and one of the best known beaches in Crete at, Vai - the site of the only natural palm forest in Europe. The site has good transport communications, being less than 30 minutes from Sitia International Airport. 

ABOUT SIX SENSES EVALUTION

Six Senses Evalution is a strongly environmentally focused resort brand. The Six Senses Evalution experience takes into consideration the guests' carbon footprint, the holistic health of the individual and the resulting impact of tourism on the surrounding eco-system and social environment. Six Senses Evalution aims at taking the concept to its logical conclusion - a zero carbon resort brand with a strong social and environmental emphasis catering to the responsible, international high-end traveler.

The brand establishes examples of how the comforts and luxuries to which clients have become accustomed, can still be enjoyed whilst addressing the challenge of depleting natural resources and global climate change. The brand also provides exceptional guest experiences that correspond with Six Senses Core Purpose: To create innovative and enlightening experiences that rejuvenate our guests' love of SLOW LIFE: Sustainable, Local, Organic, Wholesome - Learning, Innovative, Fun, Experiences. 

The Six Senses Resorts & Spas Group operates fifteen international resorts branded as SONEVA by Six Senses, SIX SENSES HIDEAWAY, LATITUDE and EVALUTION, SIX SENSES DESTINATION SPAS, SIX SENSES SPAS, and EVASON, and is currently operating or developing SIX SENSES SPAS  in a further sixteen hosted and free-standing locations. 

The recently-opened Six Senses Destination Spa Phuket has been awarded Spa of The Year by UK Tatler, whilst prestigious AsiaSpa recognised the brand with its Eco Spa of the Year award.

 

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