Lennox Paton

Chelon is a partner in the Real Estate, Resort Development and Private Client Groups.  In recent years, she has developed a niche and invaluable experience in resort development involving all aspects of resort acquisitions and sales, project financing and master planning while also maintaining a strong private client practice. 

Chelon has routinely acted in some of the leading resort, residential and commercial projects in The Bahamas and for some of the leading financial institutions and lender groups in the financing of development projects.  Most notably, she has acted in the $2.5 billion secured financing of the Baha Mar Resort Development Project and then subsequently for Deloitte & Touche and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu in the much publicized receivership and distressed sale of the Baha Mar Resort where she primarily served as team leader for the commercial team and she also worked closely with the insolvency team. 

Chelon has a wealth of experience in helping clients navigate all aspects of the sale, acquisition, project financing and development process from the due diligence phase up to completion of the project.  She provides the full range of advisory services on foreign direct investment and incentive schemes, regulatory approvals, subdivision approval and bonding, master planning, the negotiation of heads of agreement and joint venture agreements with the Bahamian Government. 

Chelon has a strong reputation amongst her peers for her particular knowledge and experience with structuring condominium developments.  She is accustomed to working on complex residential and commercial property transactions and her notable client base consists of real estate developers, foreign counsel, financial institutions, corporate and private clients based throughout the world. 

Partner, Real Estate, Resort Development and Private Client Groups

Chelon routinely acts for high-net-worth clients in the sale and purchase of real estate in the most sought-after luxury residential communities in New Providence (Nassau) and the Family Islands.

She has routinely acted in some of the leading resort, residential and commercial projects in The Bahamas and for some of the leading financial institutions and lender groups in the financing of resort projects. Most notably, she served as leader of the firm’s commercial team in the secured financing of the Baha Mar Resort in 2024 and in the receivership and distressed sale of the Baha Mar Resort in 2017.  She also served as team leader in the secured financing of the Atlantis Resort in 2018.

She has considerable experience and has acted in a primary role in all aspects of resort acquisitions and sales, resort financing and development, drafting and negotiating joint venture agreements with the Government, drafting Heads of Agreement with the Government, advising on direct foreign investment, drafting applications to the Bahamas Investment Authority and other regulatory bodies, advising on complex residential and commercial property acquisitions and sales, project financing and development, advising on subdivision and condominium developments and other residential schemes, advising on condominium declarations/structures and advising on residential and commercial leases.

Her experience also extends to advising on all aspects of corporate matters, share acquisitions, shareholder agreements, corporate restructuring, estate planning and probate matters.

She is routinely involved in multi-jurisdictional real estate and commercial transactions and is accustomed to working with real estate developers, foreign counsel, financial institutions, corporate and private clients based throughout the world on a variety of complex transactions.

Practice Areas:

resort and hotel acquisition, financing and regulatory approvals condominium and condo-hotel declarations/structures master-planning resort communities homeowners and condominium associations private client conveyancing secured financing transactions

Recent and Other Notable Transactions

Acting as leader of the firm’s commercial team for Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Citi Real Estate Funding Inc., and JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association in the 1.5 billion secured financing of the Baha Mar Resort in 2024. Acting as leader of the firm’s commercial team for Citi Real Estate Funding Inc. and Goldman Sachs Mortgage Company (as mortgage lenders) and Citigroup Global Markets Realty Corp. and Goldman Sachs Mortgage Company (as mezzanine lenders) in the $1.85 billion secured financing of the Atlantis Resort in 2018. Acting as leader of the firm’s commercial team for Deloitte & Touche and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu in the receivership and distressed sale of the Baha Mar Resort in 2017. Acting in a primary role for The Export-Import Bank of China in the $2.5 billion secured financing of the Baha Mar Resort. Acting for UBS Bahamas in the sale of its commercial office premises in New Providence. Acting for the secured lender in the distressed sale of the Union Wharf Property in New Providence.

English

The Bahamas Bar Association The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn, London

University of Western Ontario, Canada University of Leeds, UK