Welcome to the first article on the new After Inside Timeshare, due to circumstances beyond our control the old website Inside Timeshare is dead and buried, but a new dawn is upon us. Today’s article is one we have been waiting to publish for some time, we just had to wait until the news became public. It has now happened and there will be a lot of questions that members are going to need answering.
IFA Touristik which is part of Grupo Lopesan has increased their shareholding of Anfi del Mar, it is reputed to be the largest timeshare operator, second only to Disney. It was also one of the most prestigious resorts in Europe until the legal battles began.
It is well known that the Cazorla’s have been in a long-running legal dispute between the two brothers, Santiago Santana Cazorla and Manuel Santana Cazorla, who own 50% of the Anfi shares and also holds the golden share. This gave them control over the board of directors.
It has now transpired that IFA Lopesan has now acquired the 50% shareholding of Manuel Santana Cazorla’s holdings in the family business. This as we already know is going through a tough time.
At present, it is not known how much this deal is worth, but it has been suggested that IFA Lopesan set aside a budget of 50 Million Euros to gain a majority. This would then allow IFA Lopesan more control of the business.
There are companies within the Anfi Group which IFA Lopesan has no interest in acquiring, these are the two companies Anfi Sales SL and Anfi Resorts SL. Both of these companies are in the process of “necessary” liquidation, an action brought to the Mercantile Court of Las Palmas by another subsidiary of Lopesan, Isla Marina SL.
One of the possibilities for IFA Lopesan is to drop all those companies that are not linked directly to the accommodation side of the business. It is a fact that IFA Lopesan has no interest in the “timeshare model”. So no doubt this news will be watched very closely by all those members who have purchased at a great cost their timeshare rights and membership to Anfi Vacation Club, a floating week system similar to that used by points holders. (Illegal under Spanish Law).
The dispute between the two brothers has been going on for years in the Courts of Justice and includes cases under criminal jurisdiction. This was raised by Manuel Cazorla when discovering an “alleged” decapitalisation of the group through companies registered in Switzerland and the Canary Islands. It is also well known that Santiago Cazorla has been using Morocco as his domicile for tax purposes. It appears this was an attempt that business sources within the group associated directly with the complaint by his brother Manuel. So it would appear that there is no love lost between the two. (See link to El Diario article of 17 August 2016).
https://www.eldiario.es/canariasahora/carlossosa/santana-cazorla-refugia-marruecos_132_4614679.html
Anfi has two properties which are located in the Municipality of Mogan, this comprises over 7,000 beds and two excellent golf courses. Anfi was founded by Björn Lyng in 1988 and the company was developed along with Santiago Cazorla. It was in 2016 that the family of the late Björn Lyng sold their 50% share through IFA to Lopesan.
Lopesan has an impressive portfolio, with 16,500 beds in 22 hotels located in Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Mainland Spain, Germany, Austria and the Dominican Republic. Brands in their portfolio include: The Lopesan Collection Hotels, Lopesan Hotels & Resorts, Coralliumby Lopesan Hotels, Kumara By Lopesan Hotels, Abora by Lopesan Hotels and IFA by Lopesan Hotels. They also own 76.6% of the shares in IFA Hotel & Touristik, which is a German company and is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
This is obviously a developing story and After Inside Timeshare will be keeping a close eye on further developments.
At present, it is not clear how all of this is going to affect members and those engaged in legal action against Anfi in the Courts of Gran Canaria. One source has indicated that at present it should not affect those with cases in court or waiting to be heard. What we do know is once a case has been found in favour of the client, (all cases are going against Anfi), it then passes to the Mercantile Court for the client to be added to the growing list of creditors.
If you have any questions or comments on this latest news, please use our contact page or place a comment on the article and we will get back to you.
Links to this story
Touri News
Digis Mak (US News)
El Diario
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