The major redevelopment of Sliema’s Pebbles Boutique Aparthotel is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2025.

The company behind the development revealed the date in its annual financial report for 2023.

Situated atop the popular TexMex Bar & Grill outlet close to the border with Gżira, Sea Pebbles Boutique Hotel is set to become a 100-unit (with 300 beds) hotel and self-catering apartment complex.

“The project will permit the company to fully exploit the business potential of this prime site on the Sliema-Gżira seafront,” said the company.

The extension will consolidate Sea Pebbles Ltd’s holdings in the area, which include the neighbouring mixed use corner building overlying MedAsia Fusion Lounge (which became a subsidiary as of 1st April 2023), and a seven-storey block containing 17 guest rooms on Saint Agatha Street, which is at the back of the block in question.

Construction was planned to take place during 2021 and 2022, with the company projecting the redeveloped hotel to be fully operational from 2024, as per the prospectus for a bond issue in 2019.

That plan was however put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the project only getting underway in January 2024. 

Sea Pebbles Ltd, owned by Joseph and Josephine Casha, turned a €726,000 profit for 2023, markedly higher than the €107,277 generated the previous year.

Gross accommodation revenues reached €1.45 million, a 16 per cent increase over the figure achieved in 2022 and beating projected revenue for the year by six per cent.

Accommodation revenue from Pebbles Boutique Aparthotel is expected to be nil for approximately 20 months, but the business is still expected to generate sufficient financial resources to continue its operational existence for the foreseeable future.

This includes income from Med Asia Operations Ltd, which operated MedAsia Fusion Lounge, which had its entire shareholding transferred to Sea Pebbles Ltd on 1st April 2023. Previously, it was directly owned by Joseph and Josephine Casha.

Med Asia Operations Ltd contributed dividends of €422,000 to Sea Pebbles Ltd in 2023, a figure which is expected to increase in 2024 thanks to the accrual of a full 12 months of dividends.

Another company within the group, Pebbles Resort Ltd, also achieved “very encouraging revenue” in the first quarter of 2024, and “solid bookings for the rest of the year.”