Loan facility part of bigger expansion move by Kingston Properties into sections of the Caribbean

Victoria Mutual Investments Limited (VMIL) has inked a $700 million financing deal with real estate investment company, Kingston Properties Limited.

The financial deal is in the form of a 13-month bridge loan to complete the expansion of Kingston Property portfolio. Dwight Jackson, Assistant Vice President, Corporate Finance at Victoria Mutual Wealth Management Limited (VMWM) said this financing solution aligns well with the VMIL and VMWM’s strategic objective of providing solutions, which fit its clients’ unique needs.

He added that, “as part of the overall thrust of the business, we aim to provide financial solutions that allow our clients to take full advantage of opportunities to fine tune their business and/or expansion plans.”

In a crowded market, Jackson stressed that the VMBS subsidiaries differentiate themselves by understanding their clients’ business and using this knowledge to structure financial solutions that can be leveraged to deliver increased return on investment.

Jackson emphasized that given that the bridge loan is a short-term facility, Kingston Properties has also sought to engage VMWM in assisting with providing a longer-term financing solution.

Kingston Properties expansion in the US, Jamaica and Cayman Islands

This is being done as part of the real estate company’s larger push to expand its portfolio in Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and the United States.

For his part, Kevin Richards, Kingston Properties Chief Executive Officer indicated, “this round of financing will allow us to continue to expand our portfolio, mainly in the geographic regions that we have been operating in the last four years.” He added that the facility follows the company’s 2019 rights issue, also brokered by VM Wealth Management, which raised $2 billion.

He said that this fundraising push is in line with the company’s goal to exponentially grow the business by increasing its equity to $10 billion and to increase the footprint of properties under its ownership or management to one million square feet by 2023. Richards noted that Kingston Properties is also looking to increase its investment in industrial properties over the next few years, in line with the growing ecommerce industry globally.

In addition, Kingston Properties will also be broadening its reach in the US, particularly in states outside of the hurricane corridor. Kingston Properties Limited is a publicly listed company on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE).

It operates as a Real Estate Investment Trust, with the principal business of investing in and managing real estate to provide a consistent return to its investors through dividends and capital appreciation.

At present, Kingston Properties owns properties in the industrial, residential, office and retail space in Jamaica, the US and the Cayman Islands. The company reported a 58 per cent increase in rental revenue to US$709,695 for the first quarter of 2021 with net profit after tax increasing to US$623,338 versus a loss of US$214,877 the prior year.