When we first published The Red Book in 2008 we couldn’t have predicted the roller coaster ride that the world economy would take, nor the accolades that we would receive for the publication. Major names in real estate development and investment have contributed to our humble publication and made it a success for us.
In preparing for this year’s edition, my father gave me a copy of his notebook from 1959! To my surprise it was laid out with one page dedicated to each property with all the relevant information about the property: ownership, attorneys and pricing. And the icing on the cake – it was a little red book.
I read the pages with fascination seeing many properties that we have since sold or even currently manage. One such entry is Crystal Springs, a property that my dad sold in 1961 and we have since sold twice more. Today we manage and rent this villa as one of the flagship properties that Barbados has to offer. Thirteen people have full-time employment at the property. In 1961 it sold for US$65,000. Today the value is in the tens of millions of dollars. Perhaps in the future our Red Book editions will be used as reference guides for the next generation.
On this the 10th anniversary of The Red Book, I am reminded of the reason why we published the very first edition. This reason is at the heart of our brand and it is our purpose in everything we do – “to ensure that our clients feel comfortable and confident to make informed decisions”. As you can see from the ‘original’ red book above, it is perhaps also the continuation of a legacy which my father began some 57 years ago.
As always, I hope that you will find this edition informative and useful and I welcome your feedback. I am so proud of the team who work tirelessly each year to get it together and printed in a short period. Again this year we have generated all the content internally and we have tried to raise the bar again.
Sincerely,
