MoneyMasters lining up private money for real estate projects out west
Published:Wednesday | November 17, 2021 | 12:11 AM
Boutique financial firm MoneyMasters is arranging $3 billion of private money, designated for Montego Bay property developments.
The company led by President Claudette Crooks is partnering with Concept Homes Limited, a real estate developer operating in western Jamaica, and already has one project in the bag in Montego Bay.
“After handing over this development on Lot 2 in Reading, we are committed to further development in the Montego Bay region that would bring our total investment to $3 billion by May 2022,” Crooks told the Financial Gleaner after the November 13 first viewing for potential investors, new homeowners and members of the media.
Alongside Reading Lot 2, Concept Homes and MoneyMasters are also collaborating on another project, which is pending regulatory approvals, according to Concept’s chief developer, Kevin Rose Green. The development calls for 36 apartments, a mix of six one-bedroom apartments, 24 two-bedrooms and six three-bedrooms spread across six storeys. Rose-Green says they are looking to start construction in January.
“We’ve found MoneyMasters to be a good partner, great to work with in the way they were able to put the funds together,” he said.
Equity financing for Lot 2 and the coming Lot 3 was secured through private placements, Crooks said, incorporating a mix of common equity and preference shares that were mostly taken up by institutional investors. Such investors tend to mostly include pension funds.
Crooks said the initial raise of $1.2 billion was done in late 2020, and structured as a 40:60 split of ordinary and preference shares. But she declined to disclose the terms of the transaction.
“We see the west, particularly Montego Bay, as the new frontier of growth and development in Jamaica. When we look at what is happening with the BPO sector and the reopening of tourism we’re convinced that the assessment is correct,” Crooks said.
Over the past year, she added, MoneyMasters has managed to secure funds as needed for various businesses. That’s why MoneyMasters is confident it will be able to raise the full $3 billion, she said.