An artist's impression of the proposed development

DEVELOPER Harcourt says it has the money to develop Jersey’s Esplanade Quarter.

However, the Irish-based construction company says that a move to force it to put up a £95 million bond to develop the area is ‘premature’.

Harcourt has spoken out for the first time about being asked to put up nearly a third of the cost of the controversial £350 million project on the Waterfront.

Director Pat Power, who is in Jersey this week, said that the company had the ability to meet the commitment but argued that it was too early in the process to ask it to do so.

He said that Harcourt had demonstrated its capability to the States as well as having supplied ‘letters of comfort’. He also contended that the company had spent time and money in good faith to reach this stage.

Mr Power’s comments follow reports that Harcourt had missed deadlines to put up the £95 million insurance bond. But he said that it had not been given sufficient documents by WEB and the States in order to progress the deal to the point where it would be appropriate to put up a bond.