Sources say the deal for the sale of the Hotel Tower has collapsed and workers hired by the prospective Canadian buyer Michael Mosgrove have been ejected from the property.
“Salim (Azeez) called off the deal because the man was all talk and no action… a day the new people get put out and Salim lock up back he place and that’s where it is at currently,” a source told Stabroek News.
Efforts to contact Mosgrove proved futile as he blocked emails to the address previously used by this newspaper to contact him.
In October, Mosgrove announced that he was buying the hotel for US$8 million. Then, in mid-November he said the sale agreement was coming along and would be made available in about four to five weeks.
Checks at the hotel yesterday revealed that its doors were chained and there was no one on the premises.
However, the taxi service continued to operate and was functional. A taxi driver explained that the cab service, while it carried the Hotel Tower name, was an independent service and rents the location. He confirmed too that there had been no one at the hotel since employees of Mosgrove were ejected.
Janelle Williams, who was hired to be the hotel’s manager, told Stabroek News that while indeed the workers were locked out of the hotel, she believes that the deal will be salvaged.
“On Wednesday his [Azeez’s] lawyer, Alicia George, came and instructed that when we leave; the guard must lock up the place and not to let us back in,” Williams said.
“The girls told her they were not paid and she said, don’t worry with that, she will pay them, we must just go and don’t return… it was five girls, three were paid but two only received $5,000. I told them if they don’t get through contact me and two did but at the time I did not have the money,” she added.
Williams said she now has the money owed to the two females and is asking them to make contact directly with her. She noted that she has been paid in full.
She said that she believes that the hotel sale can still be salvaged as Mosgrove has told her that he will be returning to Guyana some time before the end of the month. “I spoke with him and he said that the deal will go through; the only thing holding it back is paying everyone and once that is done it will do though,” she said.
Stabroek News was told that Azeez, the Managing Director, scrapped the deal after research was carried out on Mosgrove. “Salim found out some things… look, easy lesson good for dunce. You don’t see something in front your face and go wild into it still…,” the source stated.
Checks online by Stabroek News found that Mosgrove, a resident of Windsor in Canada, has faced fraud charges in that country. There have also been allegations of real estate fraud against Mosgrove in Negril, Jamaica.
Mosgrove had been staying at a popular city hotel and according to the source had been struggling to meet the hotel’s daily US$50 per day rate for his room. He later checked out of the hotel and this newspaper was told that he returned to Canada.
Williams said that the hotel deal took a turn when Azeez asked that US$4M be paid as the first of three payments for the hotel sale. “That is a lot of money and Mr. Mosgrove wants to see all the bills paid off first before anything,” she said.
Mosgrove had told this newspaper that he did not like the publicity about the hotel’s sale in the media and seemed agitated when pressed for questions. “You are not doing any good for the sale of that hotel by always asking so many questions about the deal and your newspaper always writing about it. You are doing more bad than good in getting the hotel sold,” he had said. “I don’t see why a private hotel deal has to get so much press… you did a story on Saturday and now you are asking for an update again? No. When it all comes together we will let you know,” he added.
Public Relations Officer Andrew Weekes, who was also hired by Mosgrove, also said that he did not want to make any other comments on the hotel. He said when Mosgrove was ready he would speak. He informed that the deal was still on the table and said Mosgrove would be returning to Guyana “soon.”
Williams also said that Mosgrove will be changing lawyers and both sides will be “putting some final preparations” to see if issues can be amended.
In May this year, the hotel abruptly closed and workers protested for owed salaries. The hotel subsequently said business had declined dramatically in recent times but assured that assets would be liquidated to pay outstanding amounts to its employees, although it subsequently broke several promises to pay them. The Ministry of Labour has since taken the hotel’s management to court to get payments for the workers.
