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1. Concord Wilshire acquires Grand Lucayan for $120 million
U.S. firm Concord Wilshire Capital has acquired the Grand Lucayan Resort from the Bahamian government in a $120 million deal that includes 56 acres of beachfront resort grounds and the 160-acre Reef Golf Course. According to a news release, Concord Wilshire Capital said it will begin a renovation, which when added to the acquisition price totals a combined outlay of approximately $827 million.
Blueprints for the Grand Bahama property’s overhaul include creating a “36-acre cruise-ship destination resort with a capacity of 10,000 passengers per day, open to all cruise lines; a state-of-the-art 25,000-square-foot, free-standing, indoor and poolside casino; a branded hotel and residential resort containing 350 hotel keys and 120 residential and timeshare units; a 160-acre, new Greg Norman … golf course, and an 18-slip mega-yacht marina.” CWC said work is to begin immediately.
2. Los Angeles' $30-per-hour minimum hotel wage concerns investors
On Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council approved a proposal in a 12-3 vote that hotels in the city with more 60 rooms must pay their employees a minimum of $30 per hour. That decision has investors and hoteliers concerned about operational costs and profit margins, the Los Angeles Times reports, which added the wage is the highest minimum wage in the U.S. and “translates to a 48% hike in the minimum wage for hotel employees over three years.”
Adam Burke, president and chief executive of the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, said “the 2025 outlook is not encouraging.”
Jackie Filla, president and chief executive of the Hotel Association of Los Angeles, said she was fearful for the effect of the decision on upcoming international sports events.
“In the short term, some (hoteliers) will tear up their room block agreements, which set aside rooms for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. I don’t think anybody wants to do this. … They’re excited to be participating in the Olympics. But they can’t go into it losing money.”
3. UK’s CBI business lobby calls for new strategic alignment with EU
The Confederation of British Industry is calling on U.K. and European Union government officials to work more closely together. The organization added that “with geopolitical headwinds threatening EU-U.K. growth ambitions, the [EU-U.K. Summit] in London on [May 19] represents a turning point in the relationship where both sides can collaborate to drive forward sustainable growth and a prosperous future."
Any U.K. moves to become more integrated with the EU are controversial ever since U.K. residents voted to leave the EU in 2016 in a process now known as Brexit. The U.K. officially left the EU in 2020 and any signs of larger cooperation is seen by some voters as a betrayal of their vote and the country’s decision. Critics point to what they state are large economic losses as a result of Brexit, while some might point to recent economic data that the U.K. exceeded analyst predictions in the latest gross domestic product numbers for the first quarter of 2025.
4. 1 in 10 Brits have no savings, report finds
Ten percent of British adults have no savings at all, and 21% said they had less than £1,000 ($1,329) in savings, according to the BBC. The findings come from the Financial Conduct Authority’s Financial Lives survey of 18,000 people. The ongoing series of surveys is seen to be an overview of the “state of the nation’s finances.” In addition, 2.8 million Brits have “persistent credit card debt” and “3.8 million retirees are worried they don’t have enough money to last their retirement.” All affect the levels of disposable and discretionary income for activities such as travel.
The BBC said the report added that “nearly half of adults have outstanding unsecured debt, where the money borrowed is not backed up by assets. … The median average amount of debt outstanding among those with debt was £6,300, and among 18- to 34-year-olds with debt, the median average amount of debt outstanding was £12,500. But, after excluding student loans, that dropped to £1,300.”
5. EU posts first-quarter GDP growth of 0.3%
The European Union’s eurozone trading bloc of 20 countries posted a 0.3% rise in its gross domestic product, according to Eurostat. That figure was down 0.1% from the last three months of 2024. Employment also increased by the same percentage amount compared with the last quarter.
The Wall Street Journal added that in the eurozone “March’s higher output was driven by a more than 3% increase in production out of Germany … and Ireland, a hub for pharmaceutical production, where output was some 15% higher than a month earlier. The two economies are the most exposed in the eurozone to President [Donald] Trump’s trade tariffs, and the surge in their factory output points to a drive among U.S. importers to stock up ahead of the package of tariffs.”