Markinch Realty shifts focus to Dominican Republic - Thursday, January 10 2008
The management of Markinch Capital Corp. and Markinch Realty Corporation is pleased to announce that management has shifted its hospitality focus to that of the Dominican Republic. Management determined that, due to continued delays in obtaining a plan of subdivision by the vendor from the Cityof Woodstock along with potential further delays from possible intervention by the local Heritage Society, management elected to exercise its option under the Agreement and not renew the land option to continue with the hotel project in Woodstock, Ontario.
The President of Markinch Realty, Mr. John F. Collins stated:
"After months of due diligence in the Dominican Republic (D/R), while awaiting the outcome of the Woodstock proposal, it was determined that the investment atmosphere for hospitality development and investment in that country, far outweighed the benefits of the Canadian investment. To that end, management diligently sought out strategic partners in the D/R, resulting in our first acquisition, a hotel on the North Coast situated in Sosua; next to the Puerto Plata airport."
In addition to the Hotel Casa Cayena purchase, management also has negotiated the share purchase of BVIH International Holdings Ltd. (BVIH), situated in the Turks & Caicos Islands. Along with the share acquisition in BVIH, management also acquired access to the membership of BVIH Hotel Casa Cayena, a fractional ownership club whose membership has access and indirect ownership of hotel units in the Casa Cayena Hotel.
The President of Markinch Capital Corp., Charles J. Elbourne stated:
"With major investor groups entering the realty and hospitality marketplace, such as the Trump organization and Ritz Carleton, in the Dominican Republic, it makes most sense to take economic advantage of this phenomenon for the Markinch Group. We are well positioned, having established strategic partnership relations with local Dominican groups, to move forward with our "club fractional ownership" approach to buildings assets for Markinch. Additionally, management has been able to secure a major cost reduction in the Ownership Group Club Units of the Casa CayenaClub, for the direct benefit of all shareholders of Markinch Capital and Markinch Realty."
Management of Markinch Capital is also pleased to report that the company has entered into negotiations to acquire mineral claims in the Beardmore – Geraldton Gold Camp, east of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Through its previous investment in TLC Resources Inc. (TLC), as outlined in an announcement dated, December 2005, management continues to work with that company towards acquiring a position in the newly discovered gold play in the Beardmore/Geraldton Gold Camp. TLC, through its subsidiary company, TLC Explorations Inc., has acquired a significant land position in this area and recent results of field work by that company resulted in obtaining excellent gold samples, which warrant further work on its property, including drilling during 2008. The Beardmore/Geraldton area has become a hot exploration play since Kodiak Explorations (www.kodiakexp.com) assembled a massive land position and subsequent drilling resulted in above average gold mineralization findings for that company.
For further information, contact:
Mr. John Collins, President
Markinch Realty Corporation
416-849-1223
Mr. Charles Elbourne, President
Markinch Capital Corp.
416-829-6740
