Barita takes stake in US property firms in financing deal

File Terise Kettle, vice-president of investment banking, Barita Investments Limited.

Barita Investments Limited is reporting that is has financed a major property deal involving the acquisition of three technology-driven real estate services companies based in the United States, executed through Ecommerce Property Services Limited.

Barita said it provided loans and quasi-equity as part of the financing. The transaction amount and the financing terms were not disclosed, but the Jamaican brokerage is describing the deal as major, given the US$2 billion, or more than $300 billion, in business projected to be done in 2021 by one the entities, Robert Slack Fine Homes LLC, a property purchase and sale brokerage outfit.

The other companies acquired are Florida Funding LLC, a mortgage broker; and Florida Title LLC, which is a property titling and transaction settlement provider. All three were purchased from main owner Robert Slack and Walters, which now owns a stake in the Jamaican company. Details of the shareholding were also not disclosed.

Ecommerce Property Services is registered in Jamaica, but it’s held through a vehicle called Pen’s Investment 2 Limited, which is incorporated offshore in St Lucia.

Ecommerce’s directors include as its company secretary businessman James Godfrey, who is also a director of Cornerstone United Holdings Jamaica Limited and Cornerstone Financial Holdings, the parent of Barita Investments; business executives Clifton Cameron and Dennis Smith; and lawyer Trevor Patterson, who is also on the board of another Barita affiliate called MJR Real Estate Holdings Limited.

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