Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest launches worldwide on 7 July 2006 and one element that is sure to catch the eye of cinema goers is the setting. Many of the scenes in the eagerly-awaited movie were filmed in The Exumas, an unspoilt string of coral cays in The Bahamas.

For those who fall in love with the white sandy beaches and azure blue seas, Black Pearl Ventures is marketing the chance to buy a piece of paradise at February Point on Great Exuma. This exclusive residential resort not only provides an annual place to holiday, but also a sound property investment. For, according to an article published in The Wall Street Journal on 2 March 2006, “home prices have as much as quadrupled in the past two years on the lesser-known and more remote Caribbean islands”.

The fact that a Four Seasons Resort opened on Great Exuma in January 2004 only serves to emphasise that The Exumas is booming. Rather like the Starbucks effect on London residential property, when a Four Seasons opens, it’s a given that you have a hot holiday destination on your hands. For evidence, look no further than the effect that the opening of a Four Seasons Resort had on Nevis in the early 1990s.

Black Pearl Ventures is promoting one of the latest travel trends, fractional ownership, whereby purchasers buy a percentage of the property. Each investor is entitled to deeded ownership for a certain number of weeks per year, for the rest of his or her life, with the ability to transfer those rights to their children. Maintenance fees are shared by all those who invest in the property and, as with any property investment, purchasers also share in the appreciation of the villa.

To make life simple, the resort’s management company handles the maintenance, the scheduling of all the owners’ time at the property and rental opportunities if requested (so investors have a chance to make money from their property).

The added bonus of fractional ownership at a resort such as February Point is the extra amenities that would not necessarily come hand in hand with a holiday home purchase. Highlights at February Point include private docks for each villa, a fully-rigged 26’ twin-engine power catamaran, a four-seater golf cart to get around the resort and a full set of recreational facilities such as USTA standard tennis courts, infinity pool and non-motorised water sports.

Black Pearl Ventures, which is named after the ship in the first Pirates of the Caribbean film, was set up by the British-born Guy Newman specifically to promote property investment in the Exumas. Guy has witnessed the steady increase in the real estate business in The Exumas since the 1970s and possesses intimate knowledge of the islands.

“In addition to the enjoyment of owning your very own slice of paradise, investing in property in the Caribbean is particularly attractive at the moment due to the strength of the pound versus the dollar,” comments Newman. “We haven’t experienced such a favourable environment for investment in the US since the early 1990s and this makes purchasing a property in the Bahamas extremely good value when buying in pounds sterling.”
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