Buyers of Caribbean holiday homes from a British developer fear their flats and villas will never be built and that they may lose tens of thousands of pounds, the UK’s Observer reported on Nov. 22.

Harlequin Property has been selling homes at six Caribbean schemes in Barbados, St. Vincent, St. Lucia and in Dominican Republic for up to five years, but not even one has been completed.

One professional property investor from Sussex paid a £30,000 deposit in 2006 on a one-bedroom property at the Merricks Beach Resort on Barbados, scheduled for completion in 2008. He received photographs of the scheme, apparently in mid-construction, but when he visited the site this summer, it was untouched.

“The place was a dustbowl. The pictures were of somewhere else,” said the investor, who is taking legal action against Harlequin. Harlequin accepted the scheme was behind schedule, but offered to return his deposit only by direct debit in monthly payments over two years.

Another British buyer at the resort paid a £45,000 deposit on an apartment in 2006, but said she “heard nothing about it for years”. When she expressed concern to Harlequin recently, she was told not to worry. “I’m expecting to lose all the money,” she said.

Others say their letters, emails, faxes and calls have been ignored. One claims to have been told his purchase contract is not, in fact, with Harlequin Property, but with another company. Others, however, said they are happy with their investments and the waiting time anticipated for completion of their properties.

Chairman Dave Ames admitted “a slight delay” on a St. Vincent scheme on the company’s website. Other Caribbean schemes advertised for sale rely on computer images or general views of local beaches even though some of those developments have been on sale for several years.

A statement from Ames admits none of its Caribbean schemes has been completed, but he only gave details of delays on Barbados. “This is basically due to government procedures in us [sic] receiving full planning permission,” he said. He claimed the firm will begin work on two, three or four of the other Caribbean schemes “early in 2010.” Added Ames, “[When] we started this side of our business I was requested to send out contracts with completion dates.”

Ames claimed that of 3,500 buyers, only 50 are seeking the return of their deposits and some of those are withdrawing for personal reasons unrelated to the delays.

Harlequin is a family-business run by Ames with his wife Carol and son Dan. This year, it said it has enjoyed “over £200 million” of business, although in 2007 to 2008, the most recent data available, it posted a pre-tax profit of only £1.63m.

It pays estate agents up to 10% sales commission on each unit sold, far higher than most developers, and its properties are marketed off-plan by third-party firms specialising in overseas resorts. Some of its contracts with buyers contain an unusual provision, saying deposits paid for homes on one development may be used to help build different schemes.

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