'Silver Reef Launch', Property Week, Wednesday May 18, 2007

London-based investment company Letterstone launched its Silver Reef luxury apartment scheme on the Caribbean Island of St Kitts this week. The scheme near Frigate Bay overlooks the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean and comprises of 62 one- and two-bedroom flats starting at prices around £140,000.

'Silver Reef, Frigate Bay, St Kitts', A Place in the Sun, August 2007

From $272,075 (£138,360) What you get: Affordable designer living on a chic low-density luxury development with dramatic sea views and a top St Kitts address.

The big sell: These luxury apartments are just yards from pounding surf and palm-fringed, powder-white beach on the Caribbean sea – and have some of the keenest prices on the island.

Pros: St Kitts for £138,630 – it must be a dream. Cons: Looking to esparcelscape England? This former British colony may not be for you – English is the main language and Colonial style abounds.

'Silver Reef Launch', Property Week, Wednesday May 18, 2007

London-based investment company Letterstone launched its Silver Reef luxury apartment scheme on the Caribbean Island of St Kitts this week. The scheme near Frigate Bay overlooks the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean and comprises of 62 one- and two-bedroom flats starting at prices around £140,000.

'Invest in the Best Daily Express, Wednesday April 25, 2007

The Cricket World Cup has come and gone on St Kitts, a relatively unexploited Caribbean island with everything going for it in the property stakes.

With the ending of sugar production, the government is backing tourism and property development to secure the island's economic future. Several parcels of land have been leased on long-term agreements to developers and construction has begun on a number of attractive projects. Prices are still lower than Caribbean neighbours such as Barbados but this is unlikely to last.

As the island's charms become better known, British investors are beginning to pour in. A former British colony and now Commonwealth member, English is the main language on St Kitts.

Vere Bruce-Gardyne of Lettersone, which is due to launch the Silver Reef development next month, said: "The tourism sector is set to boom. Prices are currently very competitive. The better known and overdeveloped islands such as Antigua to the North East are overpriced in comparison."

St Kitts, part of the Leeward group of islands, which includes its smaller sister, Nevis, has as pretty a landscape as any of its neighbours. It is largely undistributed. Rainforest clad part of the interior and the beaches are a tropical dream. The road to the south east, leading to Frigate Bay and then via ferry to Nevis, is particularly unspoiled.

With the unexplored attractions of St Kitts comes some equally-attractive tax incentives. Owners of properties in the Silver Reef development worth more than £350,00 become eligible to apply for economic citizenship which brings with it zero percent income tax and zero percent death duties.

Perched on a small hill overlooking both the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, Silver Reef is a short walk from Frigate Bay, one of the prettiest beaches on the island. It will be built by a British company to environmentally-low impact standards in traditional Kittian architectural styles with contemporary interiors, and will feature 62 one and two-bedroom apartments, all with sea views.

Properties are priced in dollars, ranging from $272,000 (£135,000 at today's rate) for the smallest unit up to $649,000 for a villa with pool. Payment plans are also very generous with a 10% reservation fee, 20% on contract and the balance on completion. Prices are inclusive of stamp duty, fixtures and fittings.  

'Get Altitude with Attitude', The Daily Telegraph, November 25, 2006

Revamped resorts, breathtaking scenery, and its cheap. It's all here says Ginetta Vedrickas. Anyone blanching at the cost of this winter's family skiing holiday could do worse than head to Slovakia where not only is the skiing cheap, but so are the properties.

Since joining the EE in 2004, this central European country has seen a stream of investors who've bought mainly new-build apartments in its capital, Bratislava. Interest is now focussing on the rest of the country, in particular the area around the beautiful Tatra Mountains in the east, where Slovakia's best skiing lies.

Investment company Letterstone see great potential in Kosice, know as the eastern capital. Their eye is also on the unspoilt Tatra Mountains. 'Slovakia is our favourite country,' says chief executive Simon Hill. 'Its growth is way ahead of surrounding countries and it has the fastest growing economy in Central Europe.'

Though boosted by industrial investment, companies including Peugot and Ford are relocating here, it's Slovakia's potential for affordable skiing which Letterstone's fund manager Will Buckingham Burr believes will interest British buyers. 'The Low Tatras are great for families and skiing in the High Tatras is challenging' he says.

The company is launching a new development in ski resort Tatranska Lomnica which sits just outside on one of the country's five protected national parks. Using the same architects as US developer Intrawest, they want the development to be sophisticated departure for a country currently lacking top-end developments. Prices are also significantly lower: French Alpine property values can be as high as €9,000 per square metre, whereas Slovakian mountain apartments start from around €1,300. Across the border in Polish ski resort Zakopane, prices have reached €2,000 per square metre making Slovakia an appealing prospect. 'You can fly to Poprad and be in the resort within fifteen minutes', says Buckingham-Burr.

'A Place in the Sun - The rest of Europe', July 2006

At the popular ski resort of Xakopane, one-bed ski apartments are currently available with purchasers benefiting from a guaranteed net return of five percent on a three-year leaseback option. A superb investment option.