by RICKY JORDAN

CHEFETTE HOLETOWN will soon be no more, as the lone beachfront property of the island's largest restaurant chain

has been sold

to a British-based investor.

The restaurant, which opened at Sunset Crest, Holetown, St James,

14 years ago, was sold

less than a week ago

for a reported

"$40 million-plus", according to sources. The sale is expected to pave the way for a new flush

of condominiums along

the upmarket

West Coast.

Chefette Restaurants Ltd announced the sale yesterday after meeting with staff on Monday. Emails and notices were also sent to the Holetown branch's 35 members of staff and management - none of whom will go

on the breadline.

Will be integrated

"They will all be integrated into the other 13 locations. We don't lay off people. That's one

of the principles ingrained in me and is in fact one

of Chefette's founding principles," deputy managing director

Ryan Haloute told the MIDWEEK NATION.

He assured staffers the

35-year-old restaurant chain was not in financial trouble, but now had "more money at our fingertips to expand

even further".

While the company

did not give a price or the name of the new owner,

it stated Chefette Holetown had been "underperforming",

and that the hundreds

of "tourists visiting the area to dine [had] declined due to the numerous

all-inclusive hotels

along the West Coast, in addition to the change

of the community into

a more upscale condominium and townhouse-based one".

The company added that declining sales coupled with "an attractive offer" by the investor,

led to the sale of the

80 000-square-foot prime beachfront property -

one of the few remaining "windows to the sea".

Chefette's chairman and managing director Assad Haloute said the proceeds would go back into the business.

Opportunities

"It will help increase future opportunities

for the company and Barbados. The company will also be looking for other locations to open new Chefette restaurants," the chairman said.

"We have already acquired a property

for our manufacturing operations which are

being expanded, and

this will lead to further employment," he added.

None of the Haloutes nor legal representatives would disclose the sale price or the purchaser, explaining that there was

a clause in the transaction that tied them to secrecy. Government's Land Tax, Land Registry and Corporate Affairs departments also showed no record of the sale.

But a source close

to the tourism industry said it was bought by a British-owned investment firm that owns other large properties on the "gold coast".

Chefette Holetown opened in December 1993.

* rickyjordan@

nationnews.com