Outerbridge remembers only too clearly: If plans to build the Ritz Carlton hotel had not been protested so strongly, the proposed $200 million, luxury hotel would have been scheduled to open for business in Bermuda next spring.

But, far from being almost finished, not a single foundation is likely to have been laid when 67-year-old Mr. Outerbridge retires as president of L.P.

Gutteridge on December 31, 1993.

As property broker for the Ritz Carlton deal, Mr. Outerbridge was faced with the task of acquiring a clutch of properties along the South Shore in Warwick which were needed for the development.

"The key to the purchases were secrecy and speed,'' said Mr. Outerbridge.

"Vendors were given no names of those buying their property and no reason for the purchase.'' After snapping up four properties, starting with the bankrupt Golden Hind Restaurant site, for "reasonable prices'' within ten days, he came up against the rock that was gas station owner Mr. Tony Smith.

Mr. Smith, who by this time had apparently gotten wind of what was happening, held out for a better price and finally sold out after several months of negotiations.

"The gas station was a very viable enterprise and it was owned by a very shrewd businessman,'' said Mr. Outerbridge. "I would say Tony Smith did quite well out of the sale.'' By the time public hearings had been held, political issues debated and planning permission finally given, it was too late.

Curbs on overseas investment were introduced by the Japanese government which led to a collapse in the financing of the scheme and it has been on hold ever since.

"If planning permission had been given five weeks earlier, we would have been beaten the changes and the hotel would be nearly up,'' said Mr. Outerbridge.

Although the postponement of the project is one of his bigger disappointments during a distinguished 40-year career, he can still laugh about the matter.

Hanging proudly in his office is a Peter Woolcock cartoon depicting Mr.

Outerbridge and tourism officers standing over a design of the hotel while opponents Bermuda Industrial Union president Mr. Ottiwell Simmons and Shadow Tourism Minister Mr. David Allen swim nearby in the ocean carrying TNT explosives and a land-mine.

"The parties involved with the project are hopeful that a hotel will be going up in the not too distant future,'' said Mr. Outerbridge. "They are exploring different sources of finance.'' Since taking over as president from LPG's founder and then-Speaker of the House of Assembly Mr. Lawrence Patrick Gutteridge in 1978, Mr. Outerbridge has presided over one of Bermuda's most diversified companies.

As well as its better known real estate and travel agency divisions, few people are likely to know that LPG is also a captive insurance manager through its association with Commercial Union in the United Kingdom. Or that it represents American Express.

And how many locals realise that, outside the Bank of Bermuda and the Bank of Butterfield, LPG's mortgage and finance subsidiary is the largest deposit company on the Island.

"I'm very proud that the company has grown from a very small enterprise into what it is today,'' said Mr. Outerbridge. "We're a company with a very, very sound financial base.

"We have no debt, own our own building and we're truly a multi-service company employing some 70 to 75 people.'' He joined LPG a year after it was started by his friend and neighbour, Mr.

Gutteridge, operating from a tiny, back office in a building which has now made way for the Bank of Bermuda's head office on Front Street.

Another of Mr. Outerbridge's regrets is that Mr. Gutteridge himself did not live to see the completion of a building named after him on Bermudiana Road which serves as the firm's headquarters, dying shortly after construction started.

Mr. Outerbridge remembers the days when a property which changed hands for 5,000 was "a big sale'' and when a sum of 25,000 would buy you the most sumptuous Tucker's Town "palace''.

He also recollects once tracking down a client on the Queen Mary cruise ship to notify him by telephone that a house he had shown an interest in months before was now on the market.

"We concluded the deal while he was still on the high seas,'' said Mr.

Outerbridge.

Then there was the time some 30 years ago that a property deal between two wealthy businessmen almost fell through due to a squabble over an broken, reproduction table "that wouldn't have fetched 50 at auction''.

"It wasn't anything to do with the money but it became a matter of principle over who should have the table,'' he said.

The seller of the Tucker's Town house was Shell executive Sir Harold Wilkinson and the buyer was Mr. Gilbert Swanson, owner of US giant Swanson Frozen Foods.

"The deal was eventually clinched in a taxi on the way to the Airport as both men prepared to leave the Island,'' said Mr. Outerbridge.

"If my memory serves me correctly, Wilkinson conceded and Swanson got the table at no extra cost and I doubt if he ever used it.'' Outside work, Mr. Outerbridge has played a significant role in the community, holding various public positions. He is a past chairman of Smith's Parish Vestry and its follow-on body, Smith's Parish Council; he is currently chairman of the Trustees of Whitney Institute and is a past president of Hamilton Rotary Club.

He has also been very active in the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce, of which he has also served as president.

"It's not just the exposure of being in public life, he said. "I firmly believe that people should make contributions to the community.

"I probably would have gone into politics but Pat (Gutteridge) was heavily involved in that so I gave him an undertaking that I would put my time and effort into developing the company.'' Although he will take over as chairman of LPG's board of directors when he retires as president, Mr. Outerbridge will have plenty of time on his hands to relax.

READY FOR RETIREMENT -- Mr. J.J. (Jack) Outerbridge regrets that the Ritz Cartlton will not be opening its doors next year, but otherwise looks back happily on a long and successful career at the helm of LP Gutteridge.