The Malta Association of Minority Shareholders and Retail Investors (MASS) has announced that it is carrying out an internal assessment into potential losses or prejudice suffered by shareholders of MIDI plc following recent developments concerning Manoel Island.

In a letter addressed to its members, MASS said the assessment relates to the partial rescission of the concession involving MIDI plc and the return of Manoel Island to the Government of Malta in a deal worth €47 million. 

The association voted in favour during the shareholders' meeting convened to approve the deal, but made it clear it was doing so under protest. 

It has argued that MIDI's expenses come closer to the €70 million mark, as confirmed by the Lands Authority, and that the difference of around €20 million is being taken out of shareholders' pockets. 

With small shareholders representing around 45 per cent of the company's total issued shares, the organisation claims that its members have lost some €9 million in the deal.

In the letter to its members, MASS explained that it is examining whether members of MASS who are also shareholders in MIDI plc may have been negatively affected by the agreement.

It added that it may later consider making collective representations or holding further discussions with the Government on behalf of participating shareholders. The association said any affected members would be informed in advance if such steps are taken.

Shareholders of MIDI plc who wish to be contacted about the matter have been asked to send an email to MASS representative Tarcisio Barbara on [email protected]

Manoel Island was officially returned to the public on 13th May 2026, marking a major development in the long-running concession agreement linked to the site.

In 2000, MIDI p.l.c. had been granted a 99-year Emphyteutical Concession over Manoel Island and Tigné Point for mixed-use development, together with the right to develop and operate a yachting centre.

The company, in a Circular that had been provided to shareholders, had said that the project was originally required to be substantially completed by 31st March 2023, with a three-year cure period until 31st March 2026.

MIDI said that the deed expressly provided for automatic extensions of the completion date where delays arose from circumstances beyond the parties' control, and MIDI contends that the various delays encountered resulted in such automatic extensions.

It said that the proposed development of Manoel Island suffered a number of unforeseen setbacks which it said were outside the Company's control, falling into three broad categories: delays in the issuance of development permits and authorisations; delays arising from archaeological discoveries requiring the redesign of the development; and delays arising from protracted administrative and appellate processes initiated by third parties.

The company holds that the cumulative effect of these delays is the basis for the company's position that the correct completion date under the Deed had been automatically extended by at least 10 years as at June 2025.

Public calls for Manoel Island to be returned to the public and opened as a national park gained steam, and a petition to have the site returned to the public garnered around 29,000 signatures.

In June 2025, the Government withdrew its support for the Manoel Island project and publicly declared its intention to convert the island into a national park.

MIDI said that given this change of stance, pursuing development through litigation alone would have been an “inadequate and ultimately futile strategy, regardless of the merits of the Company's legal position, as a development of this scale and complexity cannot succeed without the active support of Government at every level.”

In its circular, MIDI told shareholders that it regarded the company's legal position on the extension point as a strong one, supported by the terms of the Deed.