Stephen Spielberg or Ron Howard have enough material to make an amazing movie about what’s been happening over the years surrounding Anfi in Gran Canaria. For a long time TCA has been following the goings on at the Anfi, not only the boardroom feuds and the ongoing power struggle but external carry ons such as the Tauro Beach debacle. Speaking of beaches, yet another battle has broken out concerning Barranco de la Verga beach which is the main beach in front of the resort.
What we know so far
Despite what sales representatives may have told potential timeshare buyers at Anfi, the Barranco de la Verga beach is not a private beach as private beaches in Spain are outlawed. That said it is possible to apply to the General Directorate of the Coast and Sea for a concession to run various businesses from a beach, such as sun beds, water sports, restaurants bars etc. For many years the beach at Anfi has had its concession granted to Gestiones y Explotaciones Narval SL, this company is owned by the Santana Cazorla family, yes the same family that are shareholders of Anfi.
Anfi del Mar SL (majority owned by hoteliers Lopesan, and the beleaguered Santana Cazorla Group) are reportedly competing with Santana Cazorla family company, Gestiones y Explotaciones Narval SL, for management of businesses and concessions along the Barranco de la Verga beach. The two companies are head to head once again for the business concession to oversee the beach, including sun beds and umbrellas, jet skis and other recreational rentals, a restaurant business, Isla Corazón (Heart island), as well as the main marina, this together with various other shops and restaurants, which have been built next to the beach.
Gestiones y Explotaciones Narval SL, and is managed by the son of Santiago Santana Cazorla, businessman Alberto Santana Trujillo. Now we may be jumping to conclusions but the Director General of the Anfi Group is one Jose Luis Trujillo, probably just a coincidence.
The gloves are off
The battle now is between Anfi and the Carzorla brothers, after a sale of a number of shares by Manuel Santana Cazorla to the other main shareholder, IFA Lopesan, the latter now have control of the boardroom. So we now have a situation where Anfi wish to take back control of the beach and are now in a fight with Narval. Without going into the politics, Narval don’t think that Anfi have the right to the concession partly because the concession has never been put out to public tender. They maintain that they have done a splendid job since taking over and running the beach since 2011.
Now Narval, whose concession allows them to exploit the beach front businesses, are maintaining their proposal to invest €5.2 million which was made in 2009 to include a yacht club and a spa, against Anfi who are proposing to spend some €3.7 million. This is where it gets a bit dirty. Alberto Santana Trujillo has warned that if his company Narval doesn’t continue with the concession granted by the Ministry, they will claim compensation for everything they have invested in the beach over the past years, ouch!
TCA comment
TCA have been following all the Anfi developments from selling timeshare with illegal contracts and the millions awarded to timeshare owners holding such contracts to importing tons of sand from the Western Sahara, prohibited under EU law then dumping it on a beach without the appropriate planning permission. We then see a court case with Lopesan coming up against the Carzorla brothers over the winding up of Anfi Sales SL and Anfi Resorts SL, now another battle royal is about to take place.
Now as a timeshare owner at Anfi, probably most will be totally oblivious to the goings on behind the scenes, and who really cares about who owns a beach concession, as long as the sun shines, the sun beds are comfortable and the sea is warm, it matters not, but behind the facade of a lovely holiday the troubles rumble on.
If Carzola and Lopesan were husband and wife it would probably be one of the most traumatic marriages imaginable. We think that if that were the case, Lopesan would have applied for a decree absolute many years ago, the problem was, and still is, who gets custody of Anfi.
We started this article by stating the names of two of the most famous American film producers, we probably got that wrong. If he were still with us, we would venture that Peter Rogers should get the job, why? Because Peter Rogers was the producer of nearly all the hilarious Carry On movies, if this one were made, an apt title would of course be Carry on Anfi.
For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk