A piece of paradise

The property market in dream-holiday destination Mauritius is at last open to foreigners. To join the queue, you’ll need £270,000. Catherine Chetwynd asks what you get for your money

Mauritius is an Indian Ocean idyll. Its white sandy beaches, turquoise seas and lush, mountainous scenery are the stuff of fantasy. The people—of Indian, French, African and British descent—live together peaceably. The architecture is “sympathetic”—tight controls mean no building is taller than the nearest tree.

The island is far enough away—12 hours’ flying time from the UK—and expensive enough to deter the stag- and hen-party set. There are no charter flights—fares start at around £600—and four- and five-star hotels predominate. Now, for the first time, a piece of this paradise could be yours.

The government has introduced the Integrated Resort Scheme (IRS) as an alternative means of income to textiles and sugar cane, both under threat from EU quotas and cheaper competition from India and China. The scheme allows foreigners to buy freehold property.

To date, five resorts have been approved. Says Sudesh Ghurburrun, director of investment facilitation for the Board of Investment: “The erosion of our main markets means the traditional sectors will not be able to sustain economic development. We wanted to capitalise on our intrinsic assets—natural beauty, tropical climate, good lifestyle—and by allowing foreigners to buy property in Mauritius, we will gain foreign exchange and create new sources of jobs.”

Mauritius already has a dynamic financial sector, with offshore banking and a busy freeport, which handles 80 per cent of the island’s imports and exports. There are also plans for duty-free shopping. “We have to put in the infrastructure to create what upmarket investors expect,” says Ghurburrun. The government is keen to protect the island’s image, and IRS resorts are marketed as exclusive.  “There are 12 more IRS projects in the pipeline, waiting for approval, but we are deliberately taking our time, to ensure development remains low density and upscale,” Ghurburrun continues. “We are competing with the world.”

But exclusive rarely comes cheap. Minimum investment under the IRS is £270,000 in a villa developed on not more than half a hectare of land. The purchase price includes a hefty, fixed registration tax of £38,000, and sale carries a land transfer tax of £27,000.

Owners may let their properties through the IRS or a management company appointed by the IRS. The first development to be made available under the scheme, Tamarina, is now 75 per cent sold. It consists of 119 villas on 42 hectares near Le Morne mountain on the south west coast. Construction of the site, which includes an 18-hole golf course, will be completed in December. Prices start at £460,000.
Le Morne is also the location of one of Mauritian Property Partnership’s (MPP’s) two planned resorts, the other is at Les Salines on the west coast. Le Morne Brabant will consist of 65 villas, a country club, seaboard restaurant and beach club with watersports centre. Les Salines will comprise 205 villas, a beach club, boutique hotel, 18-hole golf course, country club and a helipad.

Tom Gosling, director of MPP, explains: “We will start marketing developments in late autumn and expect to go on site in the second quarter of next year. We will be at pains to maintain the island’s low-impact tourist policy. Pivotal to the scheme is our long-term strategy to restore endemic forestry where we can.”

Anahita, another site, had media launches in London and Paris in March and is being developed by Ciel Investment. Construction is due to start this month and, in total, some 300 properties will be built on the east coast of the island. There will also be a golf course and a Four Seasons hotel.

Playground Anahita is the sales and marketing company for the resort. Its director of sales and marketing, Sherri Motazed, says the new resort is about as exclusive as the government could hope for: “The Four Seasons partnership with the Ciel Group illustrates the calibre of the site,” she says. “We have had 1,200 enquiries and properties will be on sale from June 24.” Prices start at £540,000.

Buying in mauritius

pros
* The investment outlook is good. The island has one of the highest per capita incomes in Africa
* Since independence in 1968, annual growth has been in the order of five to six per cent and there is a stable democracy of 1.25 million people
* The workforce is well-educated and multicultural. The official language is English, though most people also speak French
* The island is still underdeveloped and the government is keen to make sure it stays exclusive

and cons
* The IRS is expensive; think what a few hundred thousand pounds would buy you in France
* The island is an unknown quantity; untried and untested by foreign property investors