Reading Time: 6 minutes

Executive Chairman of Jamaican investment firm, The Mayberry Group  is right to be dismayed and concerned about the turmoil roiling the Jamaica Broilers Group.

Mayberry has been a champion of Jamaican equities and has backed many local entities that took the decision to list.

It is the fifth largest shareholder in the Jamaica Broilers Group holding a 5 per cent stake in the Christopher Levy-led group. Jamaica Broilers is the second largest stock held by Mayberry Jamaican Equities (59 million shares) in its portfolio.

The decision to continually invest in Jamaica Broilers is apparent. For decades it has been a market leader, a well run Group, has ventured into international markets thus earning foreign exchange.

A safe bet, one would have thought.

Mayberry’s reposed faith in Jamaican equities took a big hit last year as a bear market was the order of the day, time and time again.

This had a major impact on Mayberry Jamaican Equities, which translated into a J$5 billion net loss for 2025. Particularly wounding was hugging up a $1 billion hit from the Jamaica Broilers debacle. This kind of blow will take Mayberry some time to recover.

Chris Berry must wonder why a prudent move, which should have yielded good fortune, turned into a blood bath and something akin to the Battle of Borodino? 

He has a right to ask questions.

Addressing the matter at an investor briefing, Berry exclaimed: “We are shocked and disappointed by what has happened. We still don’t  really understand how it happened, why it happened, and we are hoping for the best for them.”

It is the opaqueness, the ambiguity, the incomprehensibility of this debacle that is so disconcerting and a cause of consternation for Berry.

Last year, at an investor briefing, again hosted by Mayberry, Jamaica Broiler’s Senior Vice President of Finance and Corporate Planning Ian Parsard said it was unlikely that Jamaica Broilers will be paying out dividends soon and was not prepared to borrow to do so. This declaration must have been particularly galling for Berry and his team.

The Jamaica Broilers imbroglio is one in a number of dramatic stories that have recently darkened Jamaica’s corporate landscape and tested its girdings. The SSL scandal was a travesty yet to be fully explained. NCB’s share price, remaining in the doldrums, dominated headlines. Jamaica National, racking up huge losses, continues to stir debate.

Issues of governance, transparency and accountability remain central and must be fully addressed by Corporate Jamaica. There is now a fear of revealing too much and an over-reliance on obtuse communications strategies that serve as succour to unwitting investors and observers.

Some have said that both Chris Levy and Ian Parsard should fall on their swords here and take full responsibility for what transpired with Jamaica Broilers’s U.S. operations. There are those who go further, adamant that is what prevails in more sophisticated developed countries and that this is yet another case of solipsism allowed to invidiously destroy Jamaican companies.

That may be a bit short-sighted. If both Levy and Parsard were to walk, it still doesn’t solve the underlying issue. Furthermore, a new senior executive leadership team would need time to be apprised of what took place and come up with solutions.

Both Levy and Persard are invested in Jamaica Broilers and have been so for many years now. They must be confident in their abilities to turn this around and navigate Jamaica Broilers through turbulent waters and sail into calmer seas.

Yes, both men and Jamaica Broilers are under fire. Time to don the hazmat suits and walk through the flames. This is a test of courage and bravery. They have to stay the course and see it through.

Chris Berry has said that it is unclear what exactly happened here and it begs more questions than answers. He is no doubt irked.

From what can be gathered, Jamaica Broilers had seven companies operating in the United States as subsidiaries. There were major accounting irregularities from its U.S. operations, causing it to restate its audited financial statements. Chris Levy has said that Jamaica Broilers was alerted to the problem when it was seeing profits from these operations, but no cash. Losses were hidden on the balance sheet.

How did the auditors miss it? It wasn’t just PWC. U.S. auditors and bank audits also failed to pick up what was going on, and it went on for four years.

What PWC had to say on the matter is prescient. It pointed out that Jamaica Broilers did not comb through electronic communications in regard to forensic enquiries  and “as a result, we were unable to obtain appropriate evidence regarding the completeness of the full extent of the reporting irregularities.”

Inflated assets, accounting failures, and huge indebtedness spelt over $7 billion (US$45 million) in losses, a clear and present danger to the Group. How was this allowed to happen? Who had their hands or didn’t for that matter, on the wheel? 

Jamaica Broilers reported a $379 million net loss for the second quarter of 2026, reversing a profit of $756 million for the corresponding period in 2025. Its share price has moved from a 52-week high of $37.99 to fall to a meagre $16.96 at close of trading, a -54.49 fall over the past year.

This has added even more grey hair to Chris Berry’s risk-averse head. 

With family enterprises, family members tend to take preference, favoured above ability. It’s just the way it is. Stephen Levy headed the  U.S.operations.  The position Jamaica Broilers finds itself in is due to mishaps under his watch.  The reckoning has come, and he must give account.

Stephen Levy must give a fulsome explanation as to what occurred. Both Chris Levy and Ian Parsard have to some extent, shielded him and taken the brunt of the blows. Character is destiny and he should come forth and recount how events sequentially threaten to unravel one of Jamaica’s finest companies.

Former CEO of NCB Jamaica Bruce Bowen who chairs Jamaica Broilers’ audit committee, has said a full-time internal auditor will be installed. This comes after the horse has bolted out of the barn.  The U.S. State Department may very well be keeping a close eye on developments at Jamaica Broilers, which should have been unwarranted.

The question now is what does the future hold for Jamaica Broilers and can it once again be a blue chip company that pays out handsome dividends regularly. Let’s be clear, the Jamaican operations are solid and performing well. 

Jamaica Broilers is batting on a sticky wicket right now and it will require both Chris Levy and Ian Parsard to remain at the crease -with their helmets on –  and see out the bouncers. They have to put together a creditable innings that gives Jamaica Broilers a fighting chance.  They have got off to a good start securing refinancing from NCB, CIBC and Scotia which suggests that Jamaica’s leading finance houses have faith in them and that  past form should not be discounted and is still a calling card.

Chris Berry will have to sit and wait for foreboding grey skies to again turn blue.