Left: Wayne Chen, CEO of the family-run grocery chain Super Plus Food Stores and director of NCB. Right: Michael Lee Chin, chairman of NCB.

National Commercial Bank (NCB) of Jamaica is buying a two-acre property in New Kingston from Super Plus, a company run by one of its seated board members and half-brother to the principal owner of the bank.

The Wayne Chen-led Super Plus up to April this year operated a supermarket and cambio at the property accessible from both Trafalgar Road and Dumfries Road, but closed down the operation, citing poor sales and put the property on the market.

Chen and the Michael Lee-Chin owned NCB refused to discuss the price on the deal, but back in April Super Plus said the property was worth about US$5 million or about J$445 million.

Purchase price

"We do not wish to disclose the purchase price," said Major Ffrench Campbell, the head of facilities and services division at NCB, via email.

"However, we can say that it reflected current market conditions and the negotiations resulted in our obtaining the property over other highly competing bids."

The property is located opposite NCB's imposing headquarters, The Atrium, on Trafalgar Road, and next door to Scotiabank Jamaica's expanding customer centre.

Campbell said the acquisition would help the bank reduce operating costs and improve efficiency through better space management.

"We have several units operating in different locations in Kingston and the space at the Trafalgar Road location is ideal for consolidation of these units. As a result, we are expected to reap significant savings," Campbell said, without going into details.

Plans for property

The one-time supermarket, which also operated a small deli and pharmacy, will become a centralised canteen for NCB staffers. The canteen facility was previously located at 54 King Street, Kingston, but lost its home when NCB sold the downtown property to the Justice Ministry for $128 million.

NCB will also house its information technology division and other unspecified units inside its new real estate asset.

"The acquisition of this property will allow us to give up rental of two floors in the Towers on Oxford Road as well as another location on Eureka Road, which we will be putting up for sale," he disclosed.

The NCB Towers is owned by AIC Jamaica, another of Lee Chin's companies.

Campbell said the deal with Super Plus should be finalised within four weeks.

The grocery chain, facing depleting cash resources and rising debt as grocery sales tank, has been offloading some of its properties, shuttering five stores since the start of the year.

dionne.rose@gleanerjm.com

Super Plus New Kingston as seen when it was under construction back in 2004. - File