The Fortina Hotel Group has welcomed a parliamentary committee’s unanimous decision questioning the validity of valuations carried out on its Sliema property – including one by the National Audit Office – saying the outcome confirms its long-held position that those reports were “technically invalid”.In a statement, the group said the parliamentary Audit Committee had unanimously agreed that the valuations produced so far were incomplete or failed to comply with the Government Lands Act, and therefore ordered the Lands Authority to commission a new, legally valid assessmentLast month, the National Audit Office had concluded that Fortina Group substantially underpaid for the waiver of conditions on its Sliema land, noting that then-Lands Authority chair Lino Farrugia Sacco had suppressed an external valuation report by Grant Thornton that had valued the property at €18 million.The NAO’s own valuation put the figure at €21 million – suggesting Fortina paid €12.9 million less than that amount when it paid €8.1 million for the waiver. Fortina, however, argued that under today’s rules, the payment would have amounted to €4.7 million, and that both previous valuations were riddled with “material errors and methodological flaws”.“These valuations were not merely technically invalid; they were fundamentally flawed. Not only that, they inflicted immediate, measurable, and substantial reputational damage on the Group,” a Fortina spokesperson said.The group added that the committee’s decision confirmed that none of the valuations could be considered legally valid, and therefore “cannot be used to determine any compensation due” for the waiver of restrictive conditions on land it already owned.“Equally significant,” the spokesperson continued, “is the admission by NAO representatives that their own €21 million valuation also failed to comply with the mandatory provisions of the Government Lands Act.”“Fortina treats these official acknowledgements with the utmost seriousness. The Group believes an explanation is owed as to why the NAO commissioned valuations it knew held no legal validity. This has generated unfounded speculation and distorted public expectations to the Group’s detriment.”“Since the NAO report was published on 15th September, Fortina Group has remained silent, choosing restraint over speculation. We conducted a detailed technical analysis of the report’s deficiencies before submitting our representations. The unanimous 5–0 vote of the parliamentary committee now affirms our position that the valuations, which fuelled most public speculation, are in fact ‘technically invalid’.”The Group reiterated that its own analysis showed it had been materially disadvantaged, having already agreed to pay well above fair market value based on 2017 prices.“Fortina Group is reserving all its rights at law and will be making further pronouncements if and when necessary.”•