month as originally forecast.

Belmont Hotel general manager Gordon Slatford said confidence in the sale of the property to the Elbow Beach Hotel was still very high.

Elbow Beach general manager Bill Shoaf agreed that the sale was set to proceed.

However the sale -- expected to be wrapped up by the end of this month -- would probably not be finalised until some point in the last two weeks of October, he added.

A new company has been incorporated to assume ownership of the hotel and the adjoining golf club from present owners Forte Bermuda Limited whose holdings include a number of overseas properties.

However transferring the caveats, deed packets and legal documents associated with the old estate to Belmont Hotel Property Limited has taken longer than expected.

Elbow Beach is staying silent about its plans for the property but has revealed that Australian golf star Greg Norman's firm has surveyed the 18-hole golf course and plans are afoot to extend its yardage beyond the 6,000 yard mark.