A parcel of land located along Qawra’s coastline has been signed over to a subsidiary of AX Group for 65 years after an agreement was reached with Government and Lands Authority.
The property, which has an area of around 547 square metres, has been occupied by parent company AX Holdings through Suncrest and Sunny Coast Hotels since 1987, being used for lidos. The area now forms part of the AX ODYCY development, which was opened last year following a rebranding from Suncrest Hotel.
In a market update on Thursday, AX Group stated that its subsidiary Suncrest Hotels plc has been granted an official title on the public land through a temporary emphyteutic concession for the next 65 years.
AX Group has been given legal title over the land at a concession fee of €138,453 per year, reviewable every five years.
As a result, Suncrest Hotel plc now holds real rights over the entire property forming the whole AX ODYCY project.
Additionally, since the land was illegally occupied from 1987 until 2023, AX Group was ordered to pay €2.1 million in compensation, with pending lawsuits against the company to be ceded.
In Thursday’s update, AX Group confirmed that all disputes and matters with Government related to the portion of land “have been definitely settled.”
When the Suncrest Hotel was being constructed in the early 1980s, AX Group Chairman Angelo Xuereb had occupied areas along the Qawra coastline, turning them into private lidos. While legal proceedings relating to the portion of land were initiated in 1991, an agreement was never reached.
