Honeymoon ends as Sea Island files for bankruptcy

Sea Island Company filed for bankruptcy in Georgia on Wednesday, citing over $500 million in outstanding debt. Debt included $482 million in term loans, a $21 million revolving loan, and an $11 million construction loan.

Under the bankruptcy plan, the company’s assets will be sold to Oaktree Capital Management and Avenue Capital Group for $197.5 million.

The resort had embarked on an ambitious expansion and renovation drive since the late 1990s, taking on large debt to finance new ventures including the redesigning of three golf courses, construction of a new 40-room lodge, and residential developments.

Sea Island’s business plan was largely reliant on the ongoing sale and development of residential real estate around the resorts. The collapse in the global real estate market severely hit the company’s resort and real estate businesses and ultimately left it without sufficient liquidity to fund its operations or debts.

The resort has seen numerous dignitaries visit down through the years, including George W Bush and Tony Blair, who planted oak trees during the G8 summit which was held at Sea Island in 2004. George HW Bush honeymooned there with his new wife Barbara in 1945.