In this August 5, 2008 Gleaner photo, chairman of Carlton Savannah REIT [Jamaica] Limited, Garfield Sinclair, inserts CREIT on the Jamaica Stock Exchange board, witnessed by Fayval Williams, executive director of the real estate trust company, and chairman of the JSE, Curtis Martin. - File

Correction & Clarification

In a story titled ‘Carlton Savannah on the Market’, published May 27, 2009, it was incorrectly stated that the hotel opens in July. The opening is June 1.

Carlton Savannah REIT (CREIT), Jamaica's first and only real estate investment trust company, has reported that its one investment to date is now open for business and accepting reservations.

The Trinidad-based Carlton Savannah Hotel has put the first 30 rooms and its restaurants on the market, seven months after the property was scheduled to be completed.

The disclosure was made in CREIT's first quarter financial results released recently by the company, showing net profit for the period totalling $16 million.

The income came primarily from foreign exchange gains and investment income of $17.6 million.

At the end of March, the company's total asset also stood at approximately $533 million, of which hotel under construction accounts for $379.6 million.

The Carlton Savannah Hotel is a luxury hotel being constructed in Port-of-Spain, with the additional rooms, spa and gym now scheduled to be opened by the beginning of July.

"The total 165 rooms are expected to be rolled out in quick succession," said Fayval Williams, executive director of CREIT.

CREIT has bought seven of the hotel's apartments, financed with the equity from an initial public offering by CREIT on the Jamaica Stock Exchange in August of 2008.

Some 68.8 million shares were taken up in the offer.

Date moved

The initial opening date for the hotel was set for October 2008, which was subsequently moved to March 2009 and is now set for the beginning of July 2009.

However, company executives are confident now that the new deadline will be met.

"Recent meetings with the developer in April gave us confidence that the hotel will be well received in the marketplace," said Williams.

"We keep working with the developers to wrap up the final details of the hotel construction and begin its operations."

CREIT last year, through a public offering, raised $407 million to help finance purchase of seven apartment units in the hotel. The units are costing $284 million to develop.

While CREIT is currently only invested in the Carlton Savannah, the company has since sought a name change to 'Kingston Properties', reflecting plans to build out a more diversified portfolio of real estate investments.

"We have a number of different opportunities that we are currently assessing both in Jamaica and other Caribbean islands. However, it is still too early to make any announcements," said Williams.

"We are pretty close to wrapping up things, but until we get to the level of contract-signing phase cannot get more specific."

The name change, although already approved by shareholders, is still to be given the green light by the Companies Office of Jamaica.

In the meantime, CREIT Jamaica says its revenue outlook is sound, notwithstanding declines in Caribbean tourism.

"The underlying Trinidad & Tobago economy is still projected to have positive GDP growth of approximately 1.0 per cent. Not a lot of countries will experience positive growth in 2009," Williams told Wednesday Business.

"Hilton Hotel, a competitor in Port-of-Spain, has also taken its 394 rooms off the market for a year for refurbishment, and T&T continues to attract major conferences, such as the Commonwealth Heads of Government coming up in November."

CREIT last traded at $4.00 on the JSE, down from 52-week high of $6.01.

sabrina.gordon@gleanerjm.com