By Durrant Pate from Jamaica Observer

Kingston Properties Limited (KPREIT) has begun deploying the proceeds of its just-completed $2-billion rights issue with the acquisition of eight warehouse units in the Cayman Islands, valued at just under US$2 million.

The warehouses are located in the Rosedale Warehouse Complex, which is on Cayman’s industrial belt. The units are fully tenanted.

Informed sources say KPREIT will shortly be announcing another set of acquisitions but this time in Jamaica, where it has been eyeing a number of investment prospects.

In a note to the Jamaica Stock Exchange last week, KPREIT said, “The purchase was for a consideration of CI$1.6 million (US$1.95 million). The property maintains a solid tenant base comprised of companies engaged in the construction and distribution industries,” the company said.

This acquisition marks the second such purchase by KPREIT in the Cayman Islands, and is part of its strategy to continue to broaden its geographic reach as well as diversify the mix of property types in its portfolio. In justifying the acquisition, KPREIT pointed out that Cayman’s economy is projected to grow between three and four per cent each year for the next two years.

In the prospectus for the rights issue last month, KPREIT Chairman Garfield Sinclair identified investment in office and warehouse properties in Jamaica and in the Cayman Islands as the company’s main investment priority. He said investing in these asset subclasses will provide the company with the best medium- to long-term risk- adjusted returns.

KPREIT’s medium- to long-term strategy includes the sourcing of funds for continued growth, while finding a shield from foreign exchange volatility.Sponsored

The company has also changed its functional currency to the US dollar. Another element of the strategy being pursued is to quadruple square footage under management to 1,000,000 square feet within the next three years.

For more on this story go to; http://m.jamaicaobserver.com/business-report-daily-biz/kpreit-begins-deploying-proceeds-of-2-billion-rights-issue-acquisitions-in-jamaica-to-come-having-secured-cayman-islands-warehouse-units_183457?profile=1056