Mystic upgrade to commence
Published:Friday | February 9, 2024 | 12:11 AMAvia Collinder - Business Writer
Returned head of Mystic Mountain Limited (MML), Michael Drakulich, indicates that while the company will open to Jamaicans in the Easter week, a number of upgrades are expected for the attraction which was shuttered in December.
Drakulich, founder of the company, has again been given the lead role as managing director by the pending owners.
“We are going to open the doors to the Jamaica public March 1,” he said, noting that promotions will also be rolled out in the Easter season.
Meanwhile, Wilfred Baghaloo, receiver for MML, said that technical details are behind in the final close of sale for the company.
Northjam Island Tours Limited is expected to pay US$13 million for the bankrupt business. The offer price, which appeared in a creditor’s report dated March 2023, includes the property, business and leases held by the adventure company.
At last report, the process was 95 per cent completed. On February 3, Baghaloo told the Financial Gleaner, “They have possession and in control of the property since early November last year.”
This indicated that the buyer was now at liberty to do with the property as they please.
Mystic Mountain has operated in the resort town of Ocho Rios, St Ann, since 2008, but went bankrupt during the pandemic after defaulting on a $1.1-billion bond, which translates to US$7.1 million at spot exchange rates.
The company was later placed in receivership by secured creditor Sky High Holdings, a company controlled by Adam Stewart and Ian Haynes.
The buyer of the property, under a sale approved by the court in August 2023, is Northjam Island Tours, a company incorporated in June 2022.
The owner of Northjam Island Tours is listed only as Northjam Holdings Limited, but the latter company is registered offshore.
Companies of Jamaica records name the directors of Northjam Island Tours as Jason Lopez, Raymon Brahim, Laurence Smith-Taylor and Steven Cummings. All have addresses in Jamaica. However, Smith-Taylor is a British citizen and Brahim is from Trinidad and Tobago.
On Friday, February 2, Northjam announced the appointment of Drakulich, who told Wednesday Business that the upgrade will include a new restaurant, other new and unique food and beverage areas with various offerings, themed coffee and ice cream shops, pizza, patties and paninis fast-food outlets.
He said that there will also be “enhanced safety and operational features to improve wait times on rides ... along with total facelift of all facilities and buildings, inside and out; installation of new photo and reservation and ticketing systems; a new website and social media pages; and more”.
Northjam Director Wayne Cummings said that the company plans to resume operations at Mystic Mountain in early March and will plan to transform the site in the coming years into a “mecca of entertainment and seasonal celebrations”.
“Our expenditure is a combination of debt and equity. As for the amounts spent on capex, we’ve decided to keep that as an internal consideration. Be assured, however, that the work now under way to reopen the park guarantees the full and professional safety checks and recertification of all the rides and equipment,” Cummings said.
“In this phase, in preparation for our March opening, we will refurbish all the buildings to include repainting, the addition of a pizzeria and a revamped restaurant.”
Mystic Mountain, known for its tropical rainforest canopy and wild rides, hosts hundreds of cruise ship passengers on a weekly basis when open. Rides include the sky explorer chairlift (aerial) Mystic Mountain canopy experience, with chairlifts that soar above the treetops.
There is also a bobsled ride along stainless steel rails through the forest.
Ticket prices range between US$147 to US$387 for groups of four, depending on the adventure category. Historical revenue data for the company was not shared.