Every Caribbean island claims its own virtues. Barbados has old-school elegance, the Bahamas boasts a sophisticated infrastructure and St Lucia has its steep and beautiful rainforest.Top of the tick list for the Leeward Island of Antigua is a reputation for some of the finest sailing in the Caribbean. Then there are the 365 soft sand beaches, a friendly, shabby-chic vibeadmittedly sometimes rather more shabby than chic - and direct flights from London. These charms brought 249,000 visitors last year, 71,000 of them from the UK, a figure the Anti- guan government is keen to increase. New hotels and residential resorts are on the way, with buyers encouraged by a Citizenship for Investment Programme, or CIP. Introduced in 2013,CIP offers residency to anyone spending £258,300 or more on an approved residential scheme. With residency comes visa-free access to 130 countries, including the UK and Canada. chinese and Russians, in particular, have invested in huge numbers.
PLOTS WITH SEA VIEWS
Pearns Point launched as a CIP project this year. The prime 141-acrewest coast peninsula is private and secluded with eight beaches, yet the extensive facilities of Jolly Harbour are immediatelyto hand, including tennis courts, a golf course and waters ports.Dutch developer Orange Limited has divided the green hills into 60 plots of at least 0.7 acres, from £1.29million. Some have direct beach access whileothers are elevated with fabulous sea views. Already, 14 plots have been sold to just four buyers, who are building some of Antigua's most expensive homes, with contemporary design by Piet Boon.The Setai Hotel is a co-investor at Pearns Point and plans to build its first Caribbean hotel there, a significant catch for little Antigua .As well as detached homes, there will be 70 more affordable serviced apartments, 50 suites and 50 cottages for sale, all branded through The Setai."From the Med and the US, we know Building plots from £1.29 million: Pearns Point offers a mix of beachside properties with stunning sea views £1.29 million: a new, spacious and private three-bedroom detached villa at the Jolly Harbour resort. Through Savillsing from £1.29million to £3.8 million, Luxury Locations has an older two-bed room terrace house, in need of updating but with a sun deck and 30ft boat berth, for £16~,500 with a monthly service charge of £200. It rents for 20 to 25 weeks a year, at about £645 a week.
TENNIS ACADEMY
Orange Limited owns the infrastructure, services and all common land at Jolly Harbour. Over the next few yean it plans to upgrade the marina, introducing a Serena Williams Tennis Academy and building 32 one- and (two-bedroom waterfront Marini that branded properties have a 20 to30 per cent uplift, so the tie-up with The Setai is incredibly good news for owners," says James Burdess of selling agents Savills. "Pearns Point will be a five-star resort with top service on an exceptionally beautiful, private site close to the airport. This is what inter- national buyers want and so far all the buyers have purchased through CIP."Interest in Antigua has picked up significantly in the past year, says Nadia Dyson of sales and rental company Luxury Locations. The west coast is where most buyers want to be. One of the most established west coast resortsis Jolly Harbour, where facilities include a marina, an 18-hole golf course, shops and restaurants. Jolly Harbour has about 600 completed homes, cost-Residences priced from £387,300.
• Savills.com
• Luxurylocations.com
• Twitter: @cathyhawker
