Little England Cottages enhance Nuwara Eliya’s appeal as Sri Lanka’s popular hill station
NUWARA ELIYA – In today’s corporate world it’s not often that a business entity is taken over by the children of the founder chairman of the company.
It is either another trusted member from the director board or a known trustworthy individual from the family background who is appointed to take over the company.
Children now-a-days rarely follow the footsteps of the parents in taking over family businesses which have been running for a long time. They want to build their own company or invest in some business that would suit their future needs. But inevitably when there is no one to take over the family business, one of the children steps in to fill the void.
The Business Times came across a family who has been in the corporate world for more than 30 years. Jaysons Holdings being the name of the company, simply means Jayasuriya and Sons, founded by s, Managing Director of the company. Mr. Jayasuriya being a devout believer of God has achieved many pillars of success in life. He has a family of four grown-up sons with great business skills which Mr. Jayasuriya himself has molded in them.
Recently the two eldest sons in the family Vivek and Tarik took the media on a tour where the Business Times was also present, to Nuwara Eliya to explore the company’s biggest project ‘Little England Cottages’ and to give an overview of what the modern day Nuwara Eliya could offer to local and foreign tourists.
Mr. Vasantha Jayasuriya told the Business Times how the company was brought up by him and how his two eldest sons helped him after completing their studies. He said, “I started off my career as a businessman in 1977 with a sewing machine and a five hundred rupee note in my
Tarik and Vivek
hand. Today my hard work and commitment has paid off being an owner of several real estate properties. I have brought up my sons to the level where they can take over the company by themselves. While they take control of the company and the real estates, they put their own ideas of several other businesses to merge with the Jaysons Holdings.”
In Nuwara Eliya, the journalists were taken to Hotel Glendower, a 10 bed-roomed hotel in the heart of Nuwara Eliya town coming under Jaysons Holdings as one of the oldest properties.
Mr. Vivek (eldest son in the family), Business Development Director of Jaysons Holdings, said, “We are planning to expand and refurbish Hotel Glendower to 40 rooms within the current land area of 185 perches this year.” More hotels are about to emerge in Nuwara Eliya while John Keells Hotels has also requested for space availability,” he added.
Located about 4 km from the city of Nuwara Eliya, lies the gated luxury development ‘Little England Cottages’. Nestled amidst plush green tea plantations and surrounded by forests and spanning views of the Pedro Mountain range the Little England Cottages create a breathtaking image of a splendid English country hamlet. The cottages are built with a total investment of US$ 10 million on a total land area of close to eight acres.
Each house is built to a unique style within 18 to 20 perches of land.
Vasantha Jayasuriya
English architecture such as Tudor, Georgian, Edwardian and Victorian were some of the styles seen there.
Walking down the pathway of Little England Cottages, Mr. Vivek told the Business Times that out of the 36 houses that are planned to be built, 17 have been completely built and 13 sold with each in the range of Rs. 60 million. Most of the houses are bought as guesthouses by local millionaires in the country. They visit the house during holidays and spend time with the family and friends in Nuwara Eliya, he added.
Each house consists of four bedrooms, en-suite luxury bathrooms, two floors and a 45 degree pitched roofs. The tastefully designed interiors include authentic chesterfield sofas, a cast iron fireplace imported from Scotland, high end linens, curtains and well-appointed kitchens. Buyers can choose between purchasing a fully furnished turn-key solution or they can customize the interiors to their taste.
Adding to the appeal of the development is the carefully planned environment of the community. The developer Jaysons Holdings has invested heavily in the infrastructure of the land with underground drainage, rounded curbsides, quaintly paved streets lined with a plethora of fruit trees, paved nature paths and a tall, typically English wrought iron gate surrounding the development.
A clubhouse of 12,000 square feet with a restaurant, bar, gym, spa, sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi and 7 luxury rooms will be opened this year. Adjacent to the clubhouse will be a duck pond and play area for children.
Some of the famous places in Nuwara Eliya are the Sugathadasa Racecourse Complex where horse races take place. There were about 100 horses and ponies at the complex. Nuwara Eliya has also got the best strawberries in the country around the Gregory’s Lake in Nuwara Eliya while Adman’s Strawberry Shop has many strawberry recepies. Another important place in Nuwara Eliya is the Golf Club maintained well since 1889. Only members and foreigners are allowed to play at this prestigious course.