Durrant Pate/Contributor

Sygnus Real Estate Finance (SRF) has increased its stake in the J$3.7 billion One Belmont corporate building in New Kingston, which is now in the final phase of completion.

SRF has increased its stake to 86 per cent, up from 70 per cent. It is suspected that the additional stake came from Audere Holdings Limited, the joint venue partner on the commercial tower, which has 79,000 square feet of ‘Class A’ corporate office space, supported by four levels of parking.

This is in addition to rooftop entertainment for corporate events, LED lighting surrounding the building, as well as a host of other unique features. It is unknown how much the additional 16 per cent stake cost SRF, but a conservative estimate puts it well over J$600 million. 

Interior build-out works still ongoing

In the meantime, SRF continues to advance the ongoing execution of interior build-out works for some tenants of the One Belmont property. 

Primarily as a result of the increased stake in One Belmont, SRF generated a net profit for its second quarter ended February 28, reversing the loss-making position in the similar period last year, and a lower loss for the half year of 2025.

The company’s book value per share increased 5.0 per cent to J$24.05 compared to J$22.91 last year, given a J$372.06 million or 13.5 per cent increase in retained earnings to J$3.13 billion as at the end of the period under review. SRF is already reaping gains from this added interest in One Belmont.

In fact, the gain on acquisition of shares in the Audere Holdings Limited joint venture is already proving to be a positive move, as SRF’s strategic decision to increase its exposure to the One Belmont commercial tower is already reaping dividends.

The share of gain on joint ventures amounted to J$15.63 million for the quarter ending February 28, compared to the nominal loss of J$0.51 million last year. At the same time, the share of gain on joint ventures was J$39.26 million for the half-year compared to a loss of J$0.81 million last year.

This was mainly driven by SRF’s increased ownership stake of 86 per cent of the Audere Holdings Limited joint venture and SRF’s 71.0 per cent ownership in the newly formed joint venture company referred to as 5658 LMR Limited, whose underlying assets are two resort villa properties located in Ocho Rios, Saint Ann.

SRF continued the transition between its first and second investment life cycles with a number of key initiatives