Pan Jamaican Investment Trust (Pan Jam) has purchased 20 per cent of the shares in Chukka Caribbean Adventures, which plans to use the investment to drive an aggressive growth plan.

Chukka said it plans to expand its products and locations from the 59 tours it currently operates in Jamaica, Belize and Turks and Caicos.

For Pan Jam, the one-fifth stake in the attraction company deepens its foray into the tourism sector.

Pan Jam also plans to start construction of a Marriott-branded hotel in New Kingston this year.

“Chukka is a perfect fit for our strategy of investing in companies that demonstrate remarkable growth potential,” said Pan Jam chairman Maurice Facey. “What makes this an exciting opportunity is that, not only is Chukka a leader in tourism in the region, but our companies also share similar values and priorities. We are looking forward to being part of the future of an important Caribbean success story.”

Last year, Chukka said its operations collectively “delivered over 400,000 adventure tours to cruise and hotel guests in 2011”.

Pan-Jamaican is a major player in real estate and already has shareholdings in companies operating in insurance, manufacturing (including Blue Mountain coffee and jerk sauces), and retail.

For the first three months of 2012, its share of profit from those investments increased over the comparative period last year by $41 million or 14 per cent to $333 million.

The largest contributor to the growth was Sagicor Life Jamaica, which saw its profit rise by 16 per cent to $1.5 billion, largely as a result of strong new business and conservation as well as good results from its banking subsidiary Pan Caribbean Financial Services.

Hardware and Lumber, of which Pan Jam owns 20 per cent, reported a loss of $0.7 million for the first three months of 2012, compared to profit of $0.7 million for the same period last year, as poor results in both its wholesale and retail segments offset a positive performance from the agricultural division.

Pan-Jam’s CEO Stephen Facey and Paul Hanworth, its CFO, will now join Chukka’s board.