COVID forces Allegiant to can Florida resort construction

Following the extreme impact of COVID-19 on the airline and travel industry, Allegiant Travel, the parent company of US low-cost airline Allegiant Air (G4, Las Vegas McCarran), has suspended plans for the construction of its USD420 million Sunseeker Resort at Charlotte Harbour on Florida’s Gulf Coast. The firm said in an SEC filing on August 28, 2020, that it and its wholly-owned subsidiary Sunseeker Florida had entered into an agreement with certain lenders affiliated with Sixth Street Specialty Lending (formerly known as TPG Specialty Lending) to terminate a construction loan agreement dated March 18, 2019, under which SFI was to borrow funds for the construction of the resort. Under the agreement, Allegiant Travel would pay the lender USD19.8 million before the end of the year and the lender would release all of its interests in the project and the construction loan agreement would be terminated. Allegiant Travel has continued to evaluate other options to fund the completion of the construction, or to dispose of the project, the SEC notice read. Owning the resort – located near Punta Gorda, FL where Allegiant is the sole scheduled carrier – the airline would have been able to capture more of vacationers’ dollars. According to media reports, the massive resort would have included a hotel complex and upmarket condo homes, restaurants, shops, a 300 metre-long pool, a private marina, and a harbour-side boardwalk.