Encore acquires Sterling Resorts

PANAMA CITY BEACH - Destin-based Sterling Resorts LLC, which manages five Panama City Beach resort properties, and Sterling Realty LLC are now under new ownership.

Encore Enterprises spokesman Ed Gilbert said Thursday the Dallas hotel company's Encore Hospitality subsidiary had acquired both of the companies from The Sterling Companies, which is also based in Destin.

Gilbert said the acquisition was conducted through a stock purchase agreement; he declined to disclose any of the agreement's financial details.

He called Sterling well-known in the Southeast as a strong player in condominium management and said Encore would try to build on that company's reputation.

"I think they're going to look at a lot of other opportunities to expand the Sterling brand," Gilbert said,

Sterling Resorts manages more than 2,600 luxury condominium units in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. Sterling Realty, which handles vacation property real estate services, has 11 offices that include a Front Beach Road location.

Sterling Resorts' Panama City Beach properties include Splash, Sterling Breeze, Sterling Reef, Sterling Beach, and Reflections at Bay Point, according to Jayna Leach, the company's director of marketing. The acquisition would not change staffing levels at any of the Sterling-managed properties, officials said.

"The great thing about this acquisition is, they have so many resources to tap into," Leach said of Encore.

Other Encore companies include Pineapple Management Services and Pineapple Resorts.

Gilbert said Encore Hospitality had been involved in condominium management in Destin since at least 2007. He said he thought Encore might pursue further expansion along the Gulf Coast through future acquisitions and additional building where it made strategic sense.