A lawsuit has been blocking investment and the plans to reopen the Byblos Hotel in Mijas since 2009. Lord Sugar wants to get the hotel, famous for some of its past guests such as Lady Diana, and is demanding that Aifos stop blocking the mortgage so he can open the premises as soon as possible. It is nearly three years since Alan Sugar was awarded three lots of the Byblos Hotel and grounds at an auction in First Instance Court Number 2 in Fuengirola. There had been two previous auctions which were deserted. But the debts of the owner of the hotel, the real estate promoter AIfos, has obliged them to present an arrangement with creditors, which saw the closure of the hotel in May 2010. Diario Sur reports that Lord Sugar patience is running thin, and he told the paper in one of his rapid visits to the Costa del Sol, that those implicated must make firm decisions to allow the hotel to trade again. ‘I only want to end the process in which Aifos appeals all the adjudication orders which is stopping my desire to reopen the hotel, invest in its renovation and create employment. Lord Sugar’s company, Amsprop, purchased the hotel spa and tennis courts for 1.5 million, and has offered just under 1.5 million € for the finca containing the hotel. That plot is subject to article 670 of the Enjuiciamento Civil Law which means that Sugar can take the third plot if there are no larger bids in 10 days. Lord Sugar said that more than ten appeals have been made by Aifos to the First Instance Court 2 in Fuengirola which have stopped him from taking possession, despite his bid being the highest. ‘My hands are tied and I don’t know for how long, because technically the owner continues to be Aifos and I cannot carry out my project. It makes no sense to open the spa without the hotel’, he said. Lord Sugar says he has invested some eight million € in this operation, and is critical of how the property is deteriorating. ‘Thieves have entered several times. I think it will need four of five million € to bring the hotel up to date after two years of activity’.
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