info@vitalagroup.com Contact us Vitala Group 40 years
International Developers, Managers and Consultants to the Leisure, Tourism and Themed Entertainment Industry

GLOBAL PROJECT FINANCE

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

(General Terms and Conditions of Business)

When wishing to apply for project finance please visit our website and fill out the finance application form, for each project separately, and return same to us.

The minimum project loan amount per individual project is USD 8.0 million.

Please read the contents of our website www.vitalagroup.com very carefully.


The Vitala Group of Companies abides by the laws of the UK Bribery Act 2011,
which prohibits:
- The bribing of another person
- The bribing of foreign officials
- Failure of a commercial organisation to prevent bribery

We also comply with:

 

- the USA Investment Advisory Act 1940

- the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)

- the Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002

- US Federal Money Laundering regulations under US banking regulations

- the Financial Services & Markets Act (FSMA) 2012

- the Dodd-Frank Act 2010 (Wall Street Reform & Consumer Protection Act)

- the Law on Investment and Enterprises 2014

- the General Data Protection Regulations 2018 (GDPR – EU)

- The Legal Entity Identifier (LEI/ MiFID II)

- the Financial Services Act 2012 (UK)

We would like to take the opportunity to explain how project financing, through The Vitala Group of companies, works in practice.

The Vitala Group Corporate Status

a)     The “Vitala Group” is a trade name and not a legal corporation.  Under its name it operates numerous individual Vitala Group companies all of which are legally incorporated and administered in various countries.

b)     Only Vitala Group companies which are registered in the United Kingdom will show at Companies House.  Vitala Group companies registered elsewhere will not appear in a UK Internet search.

c)     No Vitala Group company has ever filed for bankruptcy, been litigated against or ever had any liens placed against them.

As we currently receive around 500 to 600 project finance applications monthly, we are unable to discuss each application with a prospective developer, either by phone or in separate meetings, before a project site visit has been arranged.

Instead, we work with a well proven procedure of evaluation of projects, tested over the last 40+ year period in the international investment markets.

Without any contractual agreements, we are regrettably unable, to engage in drawn out communication with an applicant, as regards queries not relating directly to a specific finance application, neither are we in a position to respond to queries of the most unusual types, such as:

 

1)     We could not find the Vitala Group of Companies on the internet?

2)     We called one of the Vitala Group offices, but only answer machines replied?

3)     Can we contact you via Skype?

4)     How many employees work for the Vitala Group of companies?

5)     We contacted some of your past project developers, but they did not reply.

6)     We applied for job offers to you on the internet. We sent monies for administration and other costs, but received no further replies?

7)     Can we meet for a “coffee” to chat about or explain our project?

8)     We could not find your London, UK office.

 

We do not advertise for employment on our website, but we are aware of our name being used for fake job vacancies.

You may note that we have not, in the past, ever been involved in projects which are unprofitable or not feasible.

We rarely advertise our services globally.

At most, it requires about 3 – 8 working days (numerous security checks) to initially process a project finance application, through our Global Finance & Investments Division.

The security checks include:


  1. Type of industry
  2. Type of project
  3. Size of project
  4. Political structure prevailing in the country at the time of application
  5. Economic situation prevailing in the country at the time of application
  6. Social/ cultural situation prevailing in the country at the time of application
  7. Religious structure prevailing in the country at the time of application
  8. Exposure to terrorism and risk rating
  9. World Bank/ European Central Bank/ International Monetary Fund – financial credit and risk rating of country
  10. Military risk assessment
  11. Natural disaster assessment (Ecology)
  12. Seismic risk assessment (Environment)
  13. Health/ fatal disease risk assessment
  14. Currency stability risk assessment
  15. Global regulatory authorities’ approval risk

PROJECTAPPLICATION PROCESS

  1. All applications MUST be in the English language.
  2. Each individual project is subject to a separate written project finance application.
  3. We are unable to consider multiple project applications on one form.

Project finance application forms, which are not fully endorsed, or are below the USD8.0 million loan value per project, cannot be processed.

Applications which are not accepted by us, for the reasons stated, will be communicated to the applicant in writing.

Once a project finance application is approved by us to proceed, the process is as follows:

1)     For each individual project application, the Client receives a standard letter explaining the initial procedures, timings and the forthcoming site visit procedures; a dateline is set for the first site visit period (project inspection).

2)     A site must be visited and land/project ownership must be proven by the applicant (legal Due Diligence requirement).

3)     We must meet the Client on site and view the site, (a legal requirement), site photos need to be made, as well as ensuring that the Client is known in his local community.

4)     Our standard letter of introduction mandates that any new prospective Client has to pre-pay Business Class flights and related expenses for a site visit, which are refunded in the event of a contractual assignment being undertaken with us. Once the Client has agreed dates, they will receive a comprehensive written Meeting Agenda with which to proceed on our site visit.

a)     They are recommended to sign a confidentiality / non-disclosure / non-circumvention agreement, to protect mainly their interests at this early stage.

b)     The above demands ensure that the Client really believes he has a project and does not just dream or speculate. We, on the other hand, ascertain beforehand whether a project is worthwhile to pursue, as we do not wish to waste our time or the Client’s money and time.

c)     We do not permit multiple sources to share the payment of one Business Class flight fare, or related local expenditure, for numerous projects, each project applicant is separately liable for the payment of the Business Class flight fares applicable.

We do not charge for our consultancy time covering such site visits, and in the event of a Financial Procurement Agreement (our Commission Agreement) and a loan contract being signed, we will refund all site visit costs, including all pre-paid flight costs.

We do not proceed to a site visit, unless ALL economic/ financial/ political/ logistical - indicators are positive and meet our requirements.  This serves to ensure financial independence and avoid suspicions of upfront payment costs.

5)      The 1 st Project Site Visit, by at least one of our senior executives, remains mandatory for legal reasons and serves to:

 

a.   Meet the Client, his partners/management team, and physically verify the accuracy of the project ideas proposed (legal requirement).  Virtual architectural tours via the Internet cannot be a substitute for this initial project site visit.

b.   View the site, and its surroundings, together with the Client (legal requirement).

c.   Meet local officials and to ascertain to what extent this project is known of and welcomed in the region.

d.   View all plans/studies/documents/drawings/tests/surveys, as completed and available, and enquire about planning and building laws in force locally.

e.   Confirm all future procedures/ timings/ requirements with the Client as well as assisting in determining the future development costs and timing issues.

6)     A pre-paid Business Class airfare ticket(s) and local site visit costs are to be paid for by the Client, covering one or two of our executives. These are not “upfront costs” but are security costs, and these costs are fully refunded , if and when we enter into any contractual relationship thereafter.  Likewise, we remain responsible for our administrative and research costs as well as our executives’ time at the site visit, at our sole risk.

a)     Our executives do not fly Economy Class, nor do we accept hotel/ flight package deals from loan applicants.

b)     Once the Business Class flight fare for an individual project has been pre-paid we issue a written site visit Meeting Agenda and our corporate information package, with selected written Client references and other related material.

c)     Current IATA rules state that it is not possible to accept pre-paid air tickets from overseas, since under IATA airline carrier rules a passenger is not supposed to travel on a ticket which was not originally issued at his domicile, to where he must return.  Warsaw Act Convention rules are applicable. 

Also, our international health insurance provider has advised that any insurance cover would be null and void if a passenger was traveling on a non-IATA airline issued ticket, thus breaking travel insurance cover regulations, as the ticket was not issued at the domicile of the passenger.

We would be the first to accept pre-paid and/or pre-arranged flight tickets from Clients as obviously those can be obtained much cheaper from the country of origin. 

Unfortunately, airlines protect their pricing policy by forcing us to purchase tickets from the destination of our legal residence.  These fares are referred to as published fares and are consequently more expensive than the air fares available from a Client’s location.

Furthermore, in today’s climate of terrorist threats worldwide, many airlines have ruled that air tickets may only be issued in the passenger’s country of residence, and many countries have enacted terrorism legislation to this effect. 

As a result of all these factors and the threat of terrorism, we have been obliged to implement strict procedures globally on the purchase of flight tickets for site visits, and we would ask you to follow these procedures, in order to facilitate the organisation of the proposed site visit.

We have been advised by our legal team that health, travel and life insurance cover for our executives would not be valid for journeys where tickets have been arranged by third parties.

Also, some years ago one of our executives received such a ticket and was not allowed to board the airline– his ticket was regarded as invalid. 

d)      Pre-paid airline ticket costs are always paid to one of our Vitala Group companies. However, some countries have restrictions and demand that the airfare for a traveler must be remitted into the bank account of the named traveler.

We automatically advise which option is applicable when we send out our site visit letter.

7) Many general project questions cannot be answered UNTIL WE HAVE MET AT THE SITE VISIT. We are unable to deviate from this procedure.

8) After completion of a site visit, we issue a written Observation Report, free of charge, summarising all our findings and pointing the way forward, including a Project Timetable indicating the loan process period required.

9) We are always prepared to discuss country representations/ agencies, by individuals; however, this can only take place after a site visit and having met in person. (Please refer to no. 19, 20, 21, 38, 39 below).

10)      WE DO NOTCHARGE ANY UPFRONT OR HIDDEN FEES , except a 5% success commission upon any funds a Client accepts/avails themselves through us.

 

          The 5% success fee is only payable when a Client accepts and has physically received a loan and has signed a Financial Procurement Agreement and a loan contract. It is either directly deducted or paid separately by the Client. 

 

          The 5% success fee is included in the project loan.

          There are no partial commission payments to be made.

          If the Client does not accept the loan, WE HAVE NO FURTHER CLAIMS .

          We work at our success fee risk only; we do not charge consultancy fees for project finance either.

Here are the replies to a number of other related questions you may have:

1)     How long have individual Vitala Group companies been in business?

Since 1983.

 

2)     Does the Vitala Group finance industries other than tourism, leisure and entertainment?

YES , all types of industries, subject to review of the individual financing application form submitted.

 

We also provide commercial Merger and Acquisition services.

 

3)     What project industries/ sectors does the Vitala Group NOT consider for financing?

 

     i.     Projects already partially or fully under construction, with more than 60% already constructed

    ii.     Land acquisitions and/or property purchases only – UNLESS project development is added of at least 30% of the total investment value

  iii.     Proposed sale or acquisition of property assets

  iv.     Private or personal loans

    v.     Bridging loans

  vi.     Debt/ Lien settlements/ Court settlements

vii.     Acquisitions of Shares/Bonds/ Warranties

       viii.     Buy outs/Buy ins and/or partner’s equity stake

  ix.     Angel Investment/Funds

    x.     Cash Injections/Provisions

  xi.     Commodities/oil/derivatives trading

xii.     Joint venture capitalisation/ funds for partnerships

       xiii.     Refurbishment of existing projects or project renovations, if the renovation value is less than 40% of the total project value

       xiv.     Projects with less than 25-year land lease agreements

xv.     Merger investment/ loan stakes

       xvi.     “Unethical” project proposals

     xvii.     Direct loans to Government institutions

    xviii.     Projects requiring Escrow payments

       xix.     Costs to meet the re-settlement of residents to another site location

xx.     Provision of financial security documentation/ bonds/warranties

       xxi.     Gaming/ gambling operations

     xxii.     Illegal drugs/ narcotics of any kind – including licenced medical Marijuana/ Cannabis

    xxiii.     Currency swaps/ trading

    xxiv.     Bank guarantees from Clients/ Developers/ Government institutions

     xxv.     Charity proposals

    xxvi.     The issue of project Term Sheets before a loan contract is issued by us

We do not deal with:

a)     Invitations to tenders or competitions of any type

b)     Joint Venture invitations

c)     Requests for proposals (RFP)

d)     Requests for information (RFI)

e)     Requests for Expressions of Interest (RFEI)

f)      Financing participation in Public Private partnerships (PPP)

g)     Advertisements for employment/ goods or services

h)     Project quotations/ construction cost estimates/ quantity surveys

i)       Government owned or sponsored projects (we require the Developer to be a legally incorporated corporation)

j)       Bank guarantees

k)     Islamic Bank financial contributions

l)       Islamic finance project applications

m)   Promissory notes/ post-dated cheques/ bonds

n)     Project finance applications from individuals

o)     Project proposals which offend decency and do not comply with general religious and social customs

p)     Crypto currencies or Bitcoin transactions

 

 

4)     Interest rates can only be determined close to the closing of a loan agreement, and not before.  Future interest rate calculations are forecast and set by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, on a periodical basis.

5)     Can you provide an estimate of project development costs an applicant will incur before receiving project finance?

 

NO. We can only advise on due diligence costs and other project finance costs, to be met by the applicant as part of their future assets, once a site visit has taken place .

6)     How much are collateral costs? It is almost impossible to advise what and how much loan collateral will be, until the project has been assessed by international standard feasibility studies. Usually, the main collateral will be the assets of the project, i.e., land deeds/ machinery/ other tangible assets, etc.

7)     What kind of security do you need to give to lenders?  We usually take possession of the land deeds, or long-term lease documents, for the duration of the loan period, as well as a first security charge over all other assets.We do not require personal finance guarantees from developers.

8)     If we already have existing loans, how will Vitala deal with them? 

We usually buyout all existing loans, as all our lenders require us to hold a “first security” position over all assets and outstanding loans.

 

We do not open or manage Escrow accounts as part of a loan transaction.

 

We cannot accommodate partnerships or share loans with 3 rd parties.

9)     The length of time to finance a project, through us, depends upon many factors, including:

a.        The availability of internationally acceptable feasibility studies, as outlined/discussed with us at the site visit,

b.        The physical condition of the proposed project site

c.        Whether any residents or squatters must be evicted or re-settled from the project site

d.        Whether flooding of the project site has been an issue in the past

e.        Whether the chosen project site has a history of seismic eruptions

f. Whether the chosen project site lies in an environmentally restricted area and/or requires governmental environment certificates

g.        The depth of the “political” connection of the Developer with local planning authorities

h.        The degree of difficulty of a specific project, i.e. more components means more considerations and research = more time

i. The period of time your country’s National or Central Bank requires to receive incoming foreign funds (various checks for illegal money sources, mafia originating funds; drugs or crime related funds; money-laundering, etc.), to clear and/or register these funds.

Besides this, there are a few other considerations that we do not regard as particularly time-consuming.

We therefore cannot venture to give a guideline for timing unless we have physically visited the site. This is one of the major reasons to determine the planning period time frame for project financing.

j.      The exact time period for the approval of any loan depends on:

i.        The type of industry, loan amount, and the country receiving the loan

ii.        The type and detail of project site information available to us

      iii.        Whether a loan is to be provided as a “one-time” loan or in “phases”

      iv.        The availability of the required developer’s feasibilities and support documentation

v.        The time period required for our legal due diligence upon the borrower’s senior management

      vi.        The speed of Central Bank/ National Bank registration / approval for incoming funds.

10)       Is project financing guaranteed? NO.

Projects are always risky financial undertakings and there are many risks a developer cannot cover, like force majeure, coups d’état, Tsunami, and the like.

The probability of your project getting funded depends upon the thoroughness and detail of all feasibility studies available or to be established.

The format must conform to international professional associations as well as World Bank/ World Trade Organisation/ European Central Bank/ International Monetary Fund – standards.

However, since 1983, the commencement of our global commercial existence, the only projects we have seen fail are due to either force majeure, unexpected seismic events, misrepresentation, non-disclosure of fraudulent activities by investors, deception or similar.

11)       Do you provide a Letter of Comfort (LOC) or Certified Letter of Intent(CLOI)?

YES . After the first site visit has taken place and your project has been accepted for loan consideration.

 

a.     We do not issue any LOC or Certified LOI in advance unless an initial project site visit has taken place.

 

b.     We are unable to issue Certified LOI or LOC covering projects which we have not inspected and for which we have received only written information, which needs to be verified by a site visit. This is one of the main purposes of the proposed site visit.

 

c.     Please be aware that we are forced to deal with international criminals and scammers who claim to represent us in order to obtain monies.  For this purpose they will fake or forge existing genuine LOC or CLOI.  Please always check with us first at: info@vitalagroup.com .

 

12)       Can the Vitala Group provide government support letters?

NO , not at any stage.

 

 

13)       As regards “Proof of Funds” for a specific project application, (this is the closest you can receive in the form of a guarantee commitment) the following is required:

 

a.      We must have carried out a project site visit

b.      A written Observation Report must have been issued by us after a project site visit

 

 

14)       Legal Entity Identifier –UK (LEI)

On 03 January 2018 the UK legislation for investment firms was amended and became law (MiFID II). The LEI regulation applies to investment firms, credit institutions, operators of trading venues and UK branches of 3 rd country investment firms.

 

The purpose of this is to advise that Vitala Group companies’ corporate trading activities, in particular concerning loan searches and loan placement, do not qualify for registration of a Legal Entity Identifier – UK (LEI).

 

 

 

15)       Do you need / accept government or bank guarantees?

NO , we do not require or accept Government sovereign guarantees since we do not lend to Government institutions, but only to commercial/ institutional investors/project developers.

 

 

 

16)       Can the Vitala Group provide individual project loan Terms & Conditions or Term Sheets in advance?

We are unable to provide specific information on terms and conditions as we:

 

a.     Have no verifiable information about your project at hand

b.     Have not met you or any of your investors/ managers

c.     Have not visited and verified the project site

d.     Have not perused and advised you about the information you need to provide to us (legal Due Diligence requirements)

e.     Were unable to enquire about commercial references covering your project

f.      Are not aware of the potential profitability/ cash flow of the proposed project

g.     The final project loan amount has not been determined as yet.

h.     The period/ duration of a project loan has not yet been determined.

 

We do not issue Term Sheets but written Loan Contracts.

 

 

 

 

 

17)       What other costs are involved and need to be covered in the initial stages ? The developer must cover all costs to “bring the project to the financing table”, this means acquisition of the land, land related tests, surveys, government permits of all types, all feasibility study costs, document translation costs,etc.

All those are determined and advised upon at the site visit (ongoing development costs).Every project needs a developer (a legal corporation). 

For legal reasons we are unable to accept project loan applications from individuals.

 

 

18)       Can we provide past Client project “financing” references?

YES.   These are clearly displayed on our “Testimonials” page of our website. Additionally, written references are available once a site visit has been agreed, as part of our corporate information pack which is sent to the Client.

Sometimes Clients do not wish to discuss or disclose their financial project affairs and since they are always bound with us in written non-disclosure agreements, lasting for a number of years, we have to honour their wishes for their commercial affairs not to be disclosed.

Past Clients are averse to talking to strangers, especially in light of potential fraud.

On the other hand we, at The Vitala Group, never ask for developer’s professional references or bank certifications because if somebody intends to defraud they will ensure that they use a positive entity to reply.

19)       Do we pay commissions to intermediaries for projects introduced?

YES we do, on a project by project basis, subject to a loan having been concluded and:

 

a) The recipient is a registered broker or representative with us

b) A written Commission Agreement has been issued by us to them

c) The commission is paid from the Vitala Group’s success fee after the loan has been accepted by the developer

d) Any commissions are paid once we have received our 5% success fee.

e) Applications from brokers or representatives can be made at: www.vitalagroup.com

20)       Who pays the Broker’s commission? 

WE DO, subject to individual Commission Agreements entered into with our Group.

 

a) Brokers often obtain a separate finder’s fee/commission fee from a Client, in addition to the commission payable by the Vitala Group

b) We permit brokers to enter into a separate commission agreement with the Client, provided the additional commission/ fee is acceptable within the financial scope of a project loan.

 

21)       Do we permit Brokers/ Representatives to charge an upfront fee/payment and/or sign a contract with a project applicant whether or not under the assumption that this will help/ assist a project finance application, or as a prelude to introducing the Vitala Group’s project finance services? 

NO, not under any circumstances.

 

 

22)       Can we contact the Vitala Group with additional questions or can we meet before a site visit?

All questions will be answered and solved during the site visit. 

 

We are unable to accommodate this due to the sheer volume of applications we handle at any given time, and there is no point in holding discussions with parties we have not yet met.

We are unable to discuss project application matters by telephone, WhatsApp, or by Skype, due to the lack of a verifiable written record.

23)       Can we advise the project financing costs in advance?

NO , we cannot , as too many factors are involved, which need to be clarified at a site visit first and thereafter we can provide a broad indication only.

24)       Can we send Business Plans/other development related documents to the Vitala Group prior to the initial site visit?

YES, but these can be viewed onsite; there is no point in viewing documents without having seen the site and meeting the developers beforehand.  Additionally, questions need to be answered.

25)       Can the Vitala Group finance/participate or pay for initial developer’s costs? NO .


We cannot for legal and ethical reasons, as we must approve all developer’s feasibility studies, otherwise this would constitute a Conflict of Interest. We are independent evaluators. 

26)       Can the Vitala Group share developers’ costs from the start? NO .

We cannot, for the reasons explained above in no. (25).This would interfere with our independent role in approving project documentation for financing.

27)       Does the Vitala Group demand or accept any commission payments from lenders/Intermediaries/others, during the process of arranging project financing? NO, not under any circumstances.

a.        Under no circumstances do we accept any inducements/commission from lenders or any other parties, other than our 5% success fee.

b.        We act independently from the project applicant and lenders, during this period.

c.        We are the appointed decision-makers for a project to succeed.

28)       Does the Vitala Group advertise its project finance services? NO .

We have no commercial need to advertise, in order to avoid attracting dishonest Spam/upfront money applicants and/or other dubious operators, and also to reduce/maintain the level of Spam e-mails we receive daily.

29)       Do you deal with “Islamic” finance?  NO ,

30)       Are you registered with Credit Rating Agencies?  NO .

We do not release privately held information about any of the Vitala Group of companies to any outside sources/ agencies.  This reduces opportunities for fraud, scams, or spam emails.

 

31)       What are the “loan to value” ratios required?

The most common ones are: 80: 20, 70:30, 60:40,but often 100 % project finance can be provided, depending upon the project type / industry / risk evaluation criteria.

32)       Do you provide “Non–Recourse Finance”? NO .

Our loans are funding and our lenders are only entitled to loan repayments from the profits of the project, not from other unrelated assets of the borrower.

33)       Does the Vitala Group engage other parties to finance projects? NO

We form lending syndicates and in many cases maybe come financing partners, subject to the prior approval of lending syndicates. This, however, never takes place before a project is signed up to be financed.

Otherwise this would be unethical and infringe our independent evaluator status.

 

Only the Client maintains the right to accept or reject any of our proposed loan/ lending parties or deals.

34)       How does the Vitala Group provide project finance to applicants?

a.        We approve all project documentation and then select lender syndicate participants/ members and form the lending syndicate

b.        The syndicates are made up of various corporate institutions, and private investors.  The syndicates can only be formed after completion of all feasibility studies and architectural requirements, i.e. after the initial site visit

c.        Thereafter, we propose numerous loan options to the Clients/ applicants

d.        In many cases, we are appointed by the lending syndicate to oversee the loan development phases, thereafter as loan supervisors.

e.        We must issue irrevocable financial guarantees to lending syndicates, to ensure that all documentation to be approved by us meets World Bank, World Trade Organisation and International Monetary Fund standards.

f.
Project loans are always provided in the local national currency and not in foreign currency.  Loan repatriation also takes place in the local national currency.

35)       Does the Vitala Group act as a direct lender?

a.      The Vitala Group specialises in forming lending syndicates to reduce the financial lending risks to individual parties by engaging many individual lenders.

b.      After the Vitala Group’s approval of all feasibilities studies to the lending syndicate, Vitala Group companies may become members of and join a syndicate, if they are not appointed as “loan supervisors” on behalf of the lending syndicate.

c.     The Vitala Group never acts wholly as a direct lender.

 

 

36)       Under which legal framework is project finance dealt with?

a.        Upon submission of loan proposals to the Client, loan proposers, brokers and financial intermediaries need to be advised that the Vitala Group will require direct contact with those involved in the project finance process (developers) after its first introduction.

b.        This requirement is mandatory, in order to comply with:

- the USA Investment Advisory Act 1940

- the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)

- the Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002

- US Federal Money Laundering regulations under US banking regulations

- the Dodd-Frank Act 2010 (Wall Street Reform & Consumer Protection Act)

- the Law on Investment and Enterprises 2014

- the General Data Protection Regulations 2018 (GDPR – EU)

- the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI/ MiFID II)

- the Financial Services Act 2012 (UK)

and other related laws in force, from time to time

 

We have not applied to act as moneylenders or money traders and we are therefore not required to be registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK.

 

37)       We do not represent project applicants, neither lenders nor other external third parties. We are independent, approving all feasibility studies in order to raise loans and to form syndicate financing.

 

Lenders’ syndicates require The Vitala Group to issue irrevocable financial guarantees to ensure that their approving role does not collude with a Client’s potential project results.

38)       Do we permit a Broker/Commission Agent/Representative to charge an additional fee to a Client?

YES , in addition to any commissions receivable from us, provided a Client agrees to this beforehand – but ONLY commission fees, no other charges.

We do not permit brokers/commission agents or representatives to provide consultancy services of any type to a Client at or during a specific project finance application.   This would constitute a “conflict of interest”.

 

We do not accept any commissions/ payments and/or gifts, other than our 5% success fee during the project finance process, nor are we permitted to discuss any other commercial opportunities with an applicant, unless we disclose them in writing before loan closure.

 

 

39)       Are brokers/ commission agents/ intermediaries permitted to represent the Vitala Group of Companies?

NO.  Brokers/ intermediaries are simply acting as “ introducers ”.

 

They are not employed nor trained by Vitala Group companies.  They act on their own behalf against commission payments.  We are not responsible for their statements or declarations.

 

 

40)       Another question often asked is with regards to Developer’s future research costs .    These can only be determined after a project site visit has taken place, with all due diligence carried out and completed.

 

41)       Can VITALA make use of developers’ past feasibility studies and architectural support materials?

YES, provided they conform to World Bank, World Trade Organisation, and International Monetary Fund and other internationally recognised standards.

 

We receive all types of “Developers’ executed feasibility studies” and support materials They come under different names, such as Business Plans, Development Overviews, Summaries of Projects, etc.

42)       For project lending purposes, feasibility studies/ architectural design concepts must be provided at the developers’ costs, constituting part of their assets.

Lenders want to see that developers incur costs and take risks as well. They need to be convinced about the project ideas, in light of guarantees/ securities to be held by the lenders.


The problem in attempting to evaluate and approve those past studies provided by developers to us for project financing, are in the main:

a.     These feasibilities/studies are often not carried out by an independent industry related or qualified entity

b.     They are often only opinion-based and/or developers were emotionally involved in the preparation, thus making documents biased

c.     Often they are out-dated

d.     They are not submitted in an English language format

e.     Financial documents are rarely provided on a “revenue inflow” cash flow model, but on a project model basis (opinions, rather than research results)

f.      Any research carried out previously does not carry footnotes identifying the research sources used

g.     Architectural designs are completed on an emotional basis, not based on the Market and Financial Feasibility research results (they are often just unrealistic pretty pictures/visuals) and are completed without any project research evidence

h.     Feasibility formats are not based upon World Bank/ World Trade Organisation/ International Monetary Fund/ European Central Bank/ other Associations’ criteria, set out for global project financing purposes.

As a result, and this is one of the purposes of our proposed site visits, we can ascertain and then advise on the feasibility package to be provided by developers, on a case by case basis.

We will always attempt to use as much of a developers’ past information as available, to reduce costs.

In the end, The Vitala Group has TO APPROVE ALL FEASIBILITIES and render financial guarantees to investors,so as to confirm accuracy.



43)       What is the Project Finance Contract and Financial ProcurementAgreement?

 

After the completion of an initial project site visit and after having issued a written ObservationReport, the client/ developer has the option to decide whether he/she/they wantThe Vitala Group to provide a project loan (that is if The Vitala Group has not refused project financing).

If affirmative, The Vitala Group will issue a written Project Finance Contract and a Financial Procurement Agreement (FPA) in lieu of a Term Sheet.

The FPA deals with general terms & conditions of the project financing process and in the main, deals with the payment of the 5% success fee due to The Vitala Group upon the client/developer having received the project loan.

The Project Finance Contract deals with:

a.     The detailed specifications of all feasibilities/ studies/ assignments

b.     The provision of a Project Timetable

c.     Financial payment schedules

When the Contract and FPA are signed by both parties, we will fully refund all pre-paid flight fares and all associated costs arising from the initial project site visit only.

 

44)       Other General Questions

 

When, (in exceptional circumstances), our view is that a project will not be able to be financed, we will state this clearly at the conclusion of the site visit.

Projects which do not appear to be profitable and are not able “to stand on their own feet” fall into this category.

As we only receive a success fee, we are not in the market to speculate upon commercial “could-be” opportunities.

We are obviously interested in pursuing projects which indicate commercial opportunities and those must be measured by international feasibility standards.

As we are in the business to finance projects, by forming financing syndicates to reduce capital risks, you will appreciate that our procedures are fair, legally and ethical correct and we are not interested in applications which do not understand the need for timely and streamlined procedures.

All communications are issued and/or confirmed, in writing by us, to leave no doubts as regards what has been said or agreed upon, by the various parties involved.