Taste of Success - Part 01

January 2000 by Debbie Galea - Malta Sunday Circle Magazine

When asked what he believed was the secret of his string of successes over the past thirty years, Adrian Busietta smiled and said:

'First of all you need guts, secondly even more guts and thirdly, just a little more guts.'

Wise words from a man whose name is today synonymous with real estate development. Not that guts on their own are ever enough. Just as essential is a cunning ability to turn obstacles into advantages, a talent which Mr Busietta has mastered to perfection In his words,

'Small hiccups are part and parcel of any business, this means that unless you believe that you will always succeed - no matter how small or big the problems are- your business will never go anywhere. It was this vision that made it possible for Busietta Group of Companies to branch out successfully in real estate, while at the same time maintaining its strong importation business under the name of Muscat General Stores (1802) Ltd.'

That the decision to branch out was a good one is undisputed and the company's past history is enough proof of this. It is not everyone who can boast of having owned an island, especially one as beautiful and un spoilt as Comino. Of course, for Mr Busietta, owning this enchanting island together with his partners in the 80s proved to be a great challenge. Although it looked idyllic, Comino in fact was quite run down, with the two hotels completely boarded up, as its previous owner John Gaul had lost interest. Revamping the hotels and opening to the Swiss Market Tourism was quite a handful and - as in most deals - a big risk. However, the venture turned out to be a huge financial success.

But Mr Busietta did not limit his business to just one venture. Together with other partners he bought, refurbished, sometimes sold and sometimes leased out to new tenants, ten medium sized hotels and three office blocks. Among the various properties he (together with his business partners) owned was the NATO Headquarters in Floriana, which was leased by him to NATO for over 20 years. When NATO were asked to leave in the late 1979, he had major difficulty to convert the block back into a money making project: because of this, it was decided that the best solution was to convert it into offices, which today are known as Europa Centre. Converting these military headquarters - which were full of wires, with a war room full of concrete bunkers hidden in the basement - into a comfortable office, acceptable for the modem businessman, proved to be a massive task both for Mr Busietta and his partner, Dr Phillip Attard Montalto.

Another major project was the Gaiety Cinema in Sliema - again together with his partner Dr Philip Attard Montalto - where the building had one entrance in Cathedral Street and a main entrance in High Street, Sliema.

In what amounted to a major rebuilding, the building was completely pulled down and rebuilt as a brand new first purpose-built office block with underground garages and lifts going to the sixth floor. The building was inaugurated as Tagliaferro centre, with the first branch of Mr Busietta's family bank - Tagliaferro Bank- opening on the ground floor.

With this kind of track record, it is hardly surprising that Mr Busietta was elected President of the Malta Chamber of Commerce when he was only thirty-nine years of age, making him the youngest President ever to be elected. Mr Busietta remains council member for life. His close links with business constituted bodies remains and currently Mr Busietta occupies the post of President of the Maltese Arab Chamber of Commerce.

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