TEMPUS RESORTS MOVING FORWARD UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT

Source: Tempus Resorts/Orlando Sentinel and others

May 15, 1999
As reported in an article earlier this month, the co-founder of Tempus Resorts International Inc., Ron Leventhal, is no longer the head man. It is his stepson, Roger Farwell, who is now in charge, and Leventhal has taken a five-year consulting job with the company.

The brainchild of Leventhal, his wife and Farwell, the family-owned timeshare start-up was shaken up by majority investor Apollo Real Estate Advisors . But, says Farwell, "It wasn't a coup." If anything, he says, it was too-rapid growth.

The executive office shake-up was set in motion earlier this year, when Tempus applied with the state to become a vacation club in conjunction with hospitality giant Carlson Wagonlit Travel, a 50-year partnership which calls for Tempus to develop 12 resorts across the country under the Carlson flag.

That caught the attention of New York-based Apollo Real Estate Advisors, which proceeded to buy a majority ownership in Tempus. "Apollo wanted to step up their involvement with the company and they wanted to be in control," says Farwell. "They wanted to be involved in the structure of the company." And, he says, they wanted Leventhal out of the day-to-day operations.

In New York, a spokesman for Apollo declined all comment.

Leventhal's departure marks yet another spot of turbulence in his career. Leventhal and Farwell both were sued by their former employer, timeshare developer David Siegel and Siegel's Central Florida Investments. Siegel alleged in his court case that Leventhal and Farwell conspired to cripple Siegel's $800 million real estate empire while they were working at CFI. The case was eventually settled, but the two parties refiled the suit in February this year. In this suit, both Farwell and his mother are asking for commissions they say are owed them by CFI.

Despite the litigation, Tempus has continued to rack up revenue. According to Farwell, the firm has more than $50 million in first year sales, well above the expected figure of $25 million. The development deal with Carlson is expected to span the next 20 years. The company, which already owns a 72-villa timeshare resort near Walt Disney World, is getting ready to unveil plans for a 1,200-unit time share on a 130-acre tract near the intersection of Sand Lake Road and Turkey Lake Road.

In New York, Apollo, which originally put $40 million into Tempus, has since upped that figure to $130 million.