Got $19M? Daufuskie Island’s bankrupt Melrose Resort could be yours

If you’ve got at least $19 million, you may have a shot at buying the bankrupt and shuttered Melrose Resort on Daufuskie Island.

The roughly 400-acre property on the remote island off Hilton Head Island is set to be sold to the highest bidder, with a minimum purchase price pegged at $19 million.

The resort, bought in 2011 by the Utah-based firm the Pelorus Group, filed for Chapter 11 protection in March and stalled an impending foreclosure sale.

Prior to filing for bankruptcy, the Pelorus Group transferred ownership of the resort to a group of affiliated companies also headquartered in Utah and managed by Pelorus Group president J.T. Bramlette, according to court records.

A phone number previously used by Bramlette was disconnected when called Monday, and bankruptcy attorneys representing the group could not be reached.

The resort’s main creditor — Odeon Singapore Limited, an affiliate of Netherlands-based Lex van Hessen Holding BV — invested roughly $27.5 million in the Melrose Resort, court documents show.

Lex van Hessen’s main business is the production and distribution of natural sausage casings, with operations in nearly a dozen countries around the globe, according to its website.

According to a deal — known as a “stalking horse bid” — struck last month in bankruptcy court, Odeon can dictate many of the terms of sale, including setting the minimum bid price.

Should no qualified bidders emerge, Odeon would take possession of the resort but also would take a loss of $8.5 million in already invested funds.

The bankrupt resort’s ownership group has hired real estate brokerage Colliers International to market the property to prospective bidders, court documents show.

A bank statement included in court documents shows one of the resort’s ownership affiliates, FIG Daufuskie 1 LLC, had a cash balance of $22 at the end of May.

Between January and March, resort owners paid more than $55,000 to bankruptcy attorneys, compensation disclosure forms filed in court show.

The Pelorus Group bought the property — which included included a restaurant, beach cottages, an inn, a ferry landing and a golf course — in a 2011 bankruptcy sale from a group of creditors who reclaimed the the former Daufuskie Island Resort & Breathe Spa. At the time, Bramlette told The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette that the purchase price was $13 million.

Privately owned cottages adjacent to the Pelorus property are not part of the bankruptcy sale.

A bankruptcy sale hearing for the property is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 30 in Charleston.

This story was originally published July 10, 2017 at 3:06 PM with the headline "Got $19M? Daufuskie Island’s bankrupt Melrose Resort could be yours."