Leading French Developer, Garrigae Resorts, announces the grand opening of its 20 acre vineyard development and spa, ‘Les Jardins de St Benoît’, Languedoc. The opening celebrated the completion of 171 townhouses and villas inspired by the traditional architecture of the region and was officially opened by Mr. Georges Freche, President of the Languedoc - Roussillon region and Mr. Xavier de Volontat, local Mayor of Saint Laurent on Saturday 16^th May. Les Jardins has proved popular with second home buyers in Britain, Ireland, Hong Kong and Belgium and Garrigae signed 50% more deeds of sale in 2008 than in 2007 despite the economic downturn. Only 11 properties are remaining for sale.

The extension of the French village of Saint Laurent de la Cabrerisse came to life on Saturday afternoon as owners and guests basked in the Mediterranean sunshine and enjoyed traditional village activities such as petanque, local produce tasting, horse and cart rides and savoured the Corbière wines. The evening celebrations moved into the old village for a street party with live traditional occitane music.

In his inauguration speech, George Freche said: “The opening of Les Jardins de St Benoît is hugely influential on the future growth of tourism in the Languedoc region. People from all around the world, from as far as Dubai, China and the United States will come to the south of France - initially to stay at this development for a ‘French’ experience, and then will venture out and discover the beauty of the region. These people will return home and tell their friends.”

The Garrigae Resorts proposition, offering ‘authentic’ French luxury homes has ensured all new build holiday homes are in a style sympathetic to the existing village properties. Owners enjoy a share in the ownership of the on-site vineyard and olive grove and can choose to integrate with the local community by participating in the oldest traditions of wine-making and olive pressing. Owner Joyce Roberts says: “'What was particularly attractive was being part of the Garrigae family of owners at Les Jardins, as well as the close relationship being established with the local community and local producers. The opening of the resort has delivered in every aspect of this concept - we have experienced a 'real' French experience which is not too touristy.”

On first viewing, owners have been overwhelmed by the quality of their homes and the ‘village feel’ created. Off-plan reservations commenced as long as three years ago, with some owners having bought unseen. Each property has its own secluded garden and terrace and each villa has a garden planted with native flowers and a private swimming pool. On-site facilities focus around the central ‘Bastide’ building providing restaurants and terrace bar, large outdoor swimming pool, sporting facilities, shops, children’s club and Mediterranean spa with indoor pool.

Founder and CEO of Garrigae Resorts, Miguel Espada says: “We feel Les Jardins is somewhere we can put down our bags and invite our family and friends. We have three, rather boisterous little boys who love gardening, planting vegetables and fishing and the riverside site is ideal for them. Other children can now share in these activities, leaving their parents time to relax and take advantage of the facilities on offer. This is previously the spot where Cistercian monks chose to build an abbey and we are proud to have conserved the extraordinary twelfth century medieval gardens and to breathe new life into them today.”

The hospitality arm of Les Jardins de St Benoît will open to visitors on 1^st June 2009 All activities onsite have been selected not only for pleasure and well-being, but also to introduce tourists to local flavours and traditions. Workshops and activities ‘from the medieval garden to table’ will include; fruit & vegetable picking,, jam making and pickling, the preparing and cooking of traditional recipes, looking after chickens and rabbits, painting & art workshops and sporting activities.

The property rental pool, which creates the hotel stock, will be managed by Garrigae Hotels & Resorts. Owners at Les Jardins de St Benoît are guaranteed returns on investment. The Garrigae leaseback scheme offers 4 different packages to suit the needs of all buyers on a 9 year index linked lease with a 19.6% VAT rebate: ‘Pure Investment’ option for investors looking to ensure the maximum possible cash rental return translates into a net of VAT financial return of 4.5%. The ‘Pleasure Investment’ option offers a cash return of 3.5% net of VAT and 2.1% personal use credits. The ‘Leisure Investment’ option offers a cash return of 2.84% net of VAT and 3.1% in personal use credit. And the ‘Home from Home’ option with up to 6 months of personal use annually is tailored to the individual’s usage requirements, yet still maximizing on the returns.

UK and Irish residents can also transfer their pension funds into Self Invested Personal Pension Plans (SIPPs) and use them to buy commercial property including French leaseback property. The SIPP buys the residence and leases it back on a French commercial lease to a management company (i.e., Garrigae Resorts) for anything from 9 to 20 years for hotel use. The management company pays the rent to the SIPP pension fund. There is French VAT at 19.6% on new build properties but because this is a commercial transaction in France one can recover the French VAT which is paid back to the pension fund.

Prices at Les Jardins de St Benoît start at €205,000 (approx £181,299) for a one bedroom townhouse, €255,000 (approx £225,519) for a 2 bedroom townhouse, rising to €635,000 (approx £561,586) for a 5 bedroom villa. All prices include furniture and are exclusive of VAT.

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