Sygnus Real Estate Finance Ltd (SRF) reported a narrower first-quarter loss as the Jamaican real estate investor broke ground on its $4-billion industrial park and advanced plans to add new tenants at its flagship office tower on Belmont Road in Kingston.
The company broke ground in early December on its Lakespen Industrial Park, a 55-acre development in St Catherine.
“We finally started the first of those two [major transactions], which is Lakespen Industrial Park… approximately J$4-billion logistics and warehouse investment,” Chief Investment Officer Jason Morris told investors in a briefing.
SRF expects the park to deliver about 34 serviced industrial lots — complete with underground power, security walling, drainage and water storage — by summer 2027.
Meanwhile, its flagship One Belmont, the nine-storey commercial tower, has achieved its second tenant effective September 2025, with a third tenant slated to move in during 2026. One Belmont, which sits on the corner of Oxford and Belmont Roads in Kingston, cost some $3.7 billion to construct.
Morris said SRF plans to let investors “buy and own a stake in the building” and participate in its cash flows, enabling SRF to broaden ownership.
The company has two other major projects in the planning stages, including a hospitality development in Mammee Bay, St Ann, on a 14-acre beachfront lot; and a residential development in Trelawny on 4.9 acres being developed in a joint-venture partnership via Delphin Holdings Limited.
SRF posted a net loss of $182.3 million for the three months ended November 30, down from $235.7 million a year earlier. Book value per share rose 8.7 per cent to $26.01 from $23.93.
Cash dwindles as deployment ramps up
The company’s cash fell by four-fifths to $58.4 million in November from $490.5 million a year earlier as SRF deployed capital into projects. Total assets rose 13 per cent to $17.18 billion. Capital grew to $9 billion from $7.8 billion, driven by joint ventures and growth in investment properties.
Improving income dynamics
Core revenues — total investment income — were negative $23.2 million, an improvement from negative $125.7 million last year. Interest income rose to $73.8 million from $58.8 million, while interest expense fell to J$157.7 million from J$189.6 million.
The weighted-average yield on real estate investment notes improved to 9.9 per cent from 5.9 per cent, stated SRF in its financials.
“The increases noted were driven by the redeployment of capital into higher-yielding real estate investment notes,” stated Sygnus in its financials. The average cost of debt fell to 8.6 per cent from 8.9 per cent as variable-rate tranches benefited from lower market rates.
SRF has generated an average annual return on equity of 17.5 per cent over the past six years since inception, management indicated in the financials.
neville.graham@gleanerjm.com
