BRITISH property developers Robin Paterson and Mike Pemberton are behind ambitious plans to attract some of the world’s wealthiest investors to two new leisure projects in the Caribbean.

When completed they will rival Sandy Lane, the multi-millionaires’ playground in Barbados. Paterson and Pemberton have acquired sites in Barbados and Grenada to build two hotel and villa complexes with a development value of $1.6 billion (£855m).

The duo have signed up Four Seasons, the hotelier, to anchor both resorts. In addition, a $250m banking facility to help finance the construction costs has been put in place by HBOS.

The Barbados project is now under way. When finished it will include a 117-bed hotel with 44 villas that will range in price from $3m to $12m. Four of the beachfront villas have already been sold.

Paterson and Pemberton intend to have a plane to ferry guests between the resorts, which are 150 miles apart.

Paterson said the Barbados government had relaxed its tough stance on allocating work permits. It is allowing Four Seasons to fly in its own staff on condition that 100 Barbadians are taken off the island and trained every year.

Paterson believes the Caribbean is 20 years behind India and the rest of Asia in terms of providing top-class tourist resorts.

Several other hotel groups share this view and are looking hard at potential sites. They include Ritz Carlton and Mandarin Oriental.

The Grenada development will be the most ambitious. It is being built on 550 acres bought from the local government. When complete it will comprise a 125-bed hotel and 60 villas. The opportunity to buy the land came after two previous buyers abandoned negotiations.

The Four Seasons hotel has signed up for a long operating lease, which has helped make the project easier to finance.

The developers have also teamed up for two high-class projects in Britain. One is at 88 St James Street in London’s West End, a building bought from Lord Jacob Rothschild, the financier. Subject to planning they intend to convert it into a residential club selling rooms into fractions of six. This allows individuals to have a London address but to share the costs.

The other project is at Park Place in Henley, Oxfordshire, which is being turned into an American-style country club.

Paterson is a former investor and chief executive of Hamptons, the estate agent. Pemberton has a track record for developing top hotels in the West Indies.