A Pembroke guesthouse could be shutting down because the owner cannot find a Bermudian manager.

And Bridget Marshall, who owns the Edgehill Manor on Rosemont Avenue, has blasted immigration officials after they refused to let her bring in a foreign manager from overseas.

Although the current manager, also an expatriate, has agreed to stay on indefinitely, Mrs. Marshall now plans to put the property on the market.

"You just can't run a business like this -- they're going to ruin this country,'' Mrs. Marshall said.

"I started trying to find someone in January. I have advertised non-stop, but the problem is you can't get a Bermudian to live in. I don't blame them because they don't have to do it. If you're capable of sitting in an office doing clerical work, you're not going to want to get down and scrub floors.

"I was just asking if I could go and look for somebody -- but that was refused by Immigration.

"I have been in this business since 1981 and although it's a hard business, it's been very successful for many years. But you can't fight City Hall and I can't go on like this.'' As well as advertising the post on three occasions Mrs. Marshall also contacted the Bermuda Hotel Association and the Government Employment Agency to find a suitable Bermudian for the job. Her search was in vain.

And she claims that no reason was given as to why her request to look overseas for a live-in manager was refused.

"I don't want to have to look overseas, it's expensive,'' Mrs. Marshall said, explaining she exhausted all avenues to find a suitable Bermudian.

"I had thought that the function of the Department of Immigration is to ensure that Bermudians are given the first opportunity of any and all positions in Bermuda.

"However, when there are no Bermudian applicants for a position and when permission is refused to allow a business to search for a suitably qualified non-Bermudian to fill the position, I presume the Department of Immigration is trying to prevent me from continuing business.'' Mrs. Marshall now plans to either rent out the nine-bedroom property or put it on the market. But she believes that any new owner might not want to run the building as a guesthouse.

She also recently invested $75,000 to upgrade the building, money which she now claims she will never recover.

And she has written to both Premier Jennifer Smith and Tourism Minister David Allen to inform them of her plight.

Last night Mr. Allen confirmed that he was aware of the problem and had passed the matter on to Labour and Immigration Minister Paula Cox.

"We would love to find a Bermudian to fill the job, that's our priority, but I am sure the minister will have a very open mind about it,'' Mr. Allen said.

Guesthouse owner blasts Immigration granted and then retracted.

"I haven't had any direct contact in the matter, but there seems to have been a number of actions between Mrs. Marshall and the Immigration board.'' Shadow Immigration Minister Michael Dunkley said he was concerned that Mrs.

Marshall was given no reason as to why her request was turned down.

"This decision concerns me because tourism is part of our bread and butter and this is a successful guesthouse,'' he said.

"But just as importantly it brings to the fore the problem in the department -- and it also existed under the UBP Government -- of communication between the department and the applicant.

The news comes just a day after one hospitality executive warned Government that more needed to be done to bring oversees investment to the Island.

"Government should be going around to people saying `we really want your investment here, what can we do to assist you?' rather than investors having to beg for everything,'' the executive said.