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Harmony Bay Resort and Spa

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24/12/2018

The Harmony Bay Resort and Spa in Turkey was sold to investors as a perfect investment opportunity. It offered the chance to buy and then rent out luxury apartments and villas to holidaymakers visiting Turkey.

A 25-page brochure promoting the Harmony Bay Resort and Spa in Turkey can still be found online. This is despite the fact that the project failed. It also left millions of British investors out of pocket as they transferred their pensions into SIPPs to invest in the fund.

A Strong Sales Pitch

The glossy brochure advertises what will be a five-star boutique hotel. The hotel has spa and leisure facilities, and is close to the Aegean Sea. At the time the resort was being built Turkey was on the up. Tourism was booming and the country was experiencing a period of massive growth and rapid investment.

As a standalone investment, the figures seemed to stack up. Investors could make up to £211,000 by transferring into SIPPs. The scheme offered average returns of over 10% per annum as well as returns on investment of up to 19.1% over five years.

Furthermore, investors took assurance from the fact that there was no chance of losing out to currency fluctuations as their investments were in GBP. The properties were being built and developed by the Akbuk Resort Group who prided themselves on the numerous property development awards they had won across Turkey.

Where is Harmony Bay Now?

However, things did not go to plan. Six years on, investors are now struggling to recover the money lost through this SIPP.

Continuing security and political unrest in Turkey, as well as the failed military coup, has contributed to low room rates which has affected the overall ability to provide payments to investors.

The hotel has now been bought by the Ramada Group. The company stated that they are not able to help resell the properties. This is due to the continuing tourism slump.

They also offer no indication as to when tourism in Turkey will pick up again.

If you have invested in the Harmony Bay Resort and Spa in Turkey get in touch. Our experts can offer advice.