WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. – The Greenbrier is speaking out after reports surfaced that TRT Holdings, the parent company of Omni Hotels & Resorts, has acquired the past-due loans tied to West Virginia’s crown-jewel resort.
[READ MORE: Greenbrier Resort debt sold to Omni Hotels-linked company, raising questions about the future of the resort]
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In a statement, The Greenbrier described TRT Holdings as a “predatory out-of-state company that has filed a baseless court case.”
Contrary to prior media reports, The Greenbrier was and is in compliance with its obligations under the loans formerly held by Carter Bank and now purportedly held by the parent company of Omni. TRT Holdings is a predatory out-of-state company that has filed a baseless court case in an attempt to prevent The Greenbrier from paying off the TRT loans and to steal The Greenbrier from local ownership. We look forward to our day in court and to exposing TRT’s unlawful and malicious conduct.
The Greenbrier
As previously reported, Carter Bank & Trust, based in Martinsville, sold more than $200 million in past-due loans connected to U.S. Sen. Jim Justice and his family businesses to an “unaffiliated third party,” according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
That “unaffiliated third party” was later identified as a subsidiary of TRT Holdings. The SEC filing shows Carter Bank & Trust received $289.48 million in cash from the transaction, while the principal on the loans amounted to $209.48 million.
It’s important to note that the Greenbrier remains owned and operated by the Justice family, led by West Virginia Senator and former governor Jim Justice. The Justices bought the historic property out of bankruptcy in 2009 for about $20 million, making it a cornerstone of their business empire.
To learn more about what this new financial pressure could mean for the future of the resort, click here.