Eppley Caribbean acquires Norbrook’s stake in Spanish Town Road property
Eppley Caribbean Property Value Fund, CPFV, has acquired Norbrook Equity Partner’s 50 per cent interest in a three-acre property at 693 Spanish Town Road, Kingston, giving it full ownership of the industrial asset.
Eppley Caribbean and Norbrook first brokered a deal to acquire the property back in 2020. That acquisition was one of two properties in Kingston that Eppley had acquired at the time, the other being a 3.4-acre parcel of land at 105-107 Marcus Garvey Drive.
Norbrook Equity, which is led by Khary Robinson, had plans to utilise the asset for its operating businesses, which include SNB Creative Group, Mailpac Group Limited, Hertz Jamaica, Express Fitness, Pure National Ice Company, Norbrook Water Company/JamAgua; and Norbrook Transaction Services/ePay.
But on Thursday, Robinson told the Financial Gleaner that those plans have changed.
“We have since adjusted our approach. Accordingly, the asset was no longer needed by Norbrook. That said, it’s an amazing and unique asset that Eppley will create great value from,” he said.
The value of the transaction was not disclosed.
The Spanish Town Road property has 75,000 square feet of warehouse and office space and is located near to Kingston’s cargo port. The area itself is a prime commercial and industrial zone that houses some of the largest manufacturing and distribution companies in Jamaica.
The building is currently occupied by tenants.
“Deepening our investment in 693 Spanish Town Road is part of our continued strategy to diversify and expand our portfolio of industrial assets across the region,” Eppley Caribbean Property Fund Vice-President of Real Estate and Infrastructure, Denise Gallimore, said in a press release.
“We look forward to working with our tenants to take this asset to the next level,” she said.
Eppley Caribbean Property Fund operates a Value Fund and a Development Fund. Only the Value Fund is listed in Jamaica, whereas both trade on the Barbados and Trinidad exchanges.
The current acquisition by CPFV follows its purchase of a 50 per cent stake in a 90,000-square-foot building at Chalmers Avenue in Kingston that’s used for call centre operations.
Eppley Caribbean currently owns 17 buildings in Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago comprising over 874,000 square feet.
CPFV reported preliminary earnings of BDS$9.5 million for year ending September 2022, a 65 per cent increase relative to the previous year. The growth in earnings was largely attributed to new income from recently acquired properties, and improved property values.