Iconic local landmark, the Caleta Hotel, is to be demolished.
In its place, a new Hilton Hotel is to be built, subject to planning permission and finalisation of contracts with the Hilton Corporation. This would mark a second branding foray into the Gibraltar market by a large overseas hotel chain.
It is envisaged that the Caleta will close its doors for the final time at the start of January 2022, with the build timeline for the new structure estimated to be three years.
The Callaghan family, who own and operate the Caleta, has called the moment “bitter-sweet”. There are currently around 70 staff employed at the hotel.
The replacement hotel will seek to double capacity to 120 rooms.
Strait Of Gibraltar Meeting
The local Moroccan community was able to meet with His Excellency Vice Admiral Sir David Steel, Governor of Gibraltar, to discuss issues of concern. Top of the list was the humanitarian crisis arising from the lack of direct sea and air links between Morocco and Gibraltar.
Representing the community was Clive Reed, President of Gibraltar Morocco Association, Steven Marin, Secretary of Gibraltar Morocco Business Association, and Henry Sacramento Patron of Strait of Gibraltar Association.
His Excellency assured his guests that this is now an issue that he intends to pursue.
Crowdcube FIRST
In a first for a Gibraltar business, local crypto firm Digital Asset Management (DAM) successfully launched a capital fundraiser on the industry-leading Crowdcube platform.
This formed part of its Pre-Series A investment round.
DAM was established in 2017 to effectively assist in buying, managing, sending and storing cryptocurrencies and tokens in a regulated environment. The firm is one of 12 DLT licensed and regulated companies in Gibraltar that benefit from the regulatory certainty offered by the DLT regulatory framework. DAM is licensed and regulated to offer crypto OTC (Over-The-Counter) brokerage and custodial services by the GFSC. DAM is also registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK as an EMI (Electronic Money Institution) agency company under Modulr Finance Ltd.
In January 2018, Gibraltar became the very first jurisdiction across the globe to introduce legislation around Distributed-Ledger-Technology (DLT), and has since asserted its position as a leading blockchain and cryptocurrency hub.
Commenting on the milestone, the Hon Albert Isola, Minister for Digital and Financial Services, said, “I would like to congratulate Digital Asset Management on the innovative nature they have displayed by reaching this notable milestone. In Gibraltar, we believe innovation and collaboration go hand in hand. DAM’s move to become the first ever Gibraltar-licensed company to raise capital on Crowdcube is representative of this spirit of innovation. I congratulate them on this remarkable achievement which will act as an example to other pioneering Gibraltar start up businesses that access to capital through crowdfunding platforms may also be available to them.”
With Gibraltar’s core values of regulation, reputation, and speed to market at the foundation of its efforts within the blockchain industry, Gibraltar is globally renowned for its commitment to creating a sustainable and secure regulatory framework for blockchain, as well as being one of the leading proponents in the advancement of the technology.
Commenting on the announcement, DAM’s CEO, Sam Buxton, said, ‘‘Our first four years have been a successful grind and we are now well positioned for the next four years to be game changing for the company. We would like to thank Gibraltar and the GFSC for their continued support, and look forward to further establishing our collaborative relationship with them in the future.”
