JAMAICAN Teas Limited will be offering 29 developed housing units in Orchid Estates, St Thomas, to potential homebuyers next month.

The two-bedroom units from Phase 1 were initially set to be on the market from March this year, but had a temporary setback based on approvals from the relevant agencies despite being completed at the end of May, according to the company’s third quarter financials ending June.

“We did not receive final approvals from the relevant agencies until August 7, 2015… we expect to start delivering the units during September of this year,” chief executive officer John Mahfood told shareholders.

Jamaican Teas had purchased the property two years ago for the price of $63 million after the Jamaica Mortgage Bank listed portions of the land for sale by private treaty almost a decade ago. The company started the redevelopment of the units last November, and is looking to sell each of the 740 square foot two-bedroom units, which includes a bathroom, kitchen, living area, and a porch, for $8.5 million.

Mahfood previously told the Jamaica Observer that the construction of the Yallahs Bridge by the Government had made travelling to and from St Thomas much easier than it was some time ago, especially during the rainy seasons. Ultimately, the move has made the location more fit for investments.

“People can travel 40 minutes to downtown, and that is comparable to Portmore, which has seen a reduction in affordable houses,” he stated.

H Mahfood and Sons Limited, a subsidiary of the company which had the responsibility of redeveloping the homes, has also started the construction of 42 houses, 580 square foot units, for Phase 2 of the project.

Since 2010, the tea making company ventured into estate projects, as well as growth in its supermarkets and consumer brands of Tetley Teas, Caribbean Dreams and Jamaica Blue spring water products.

Jamaican Teas has now completed its fifth year of listing on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange and is subject to taxation next month. However, expectations are that the company will see an increase in export, retail and local sales.

“We started August with a good backlog of export orders, so we should experience an increase in export sales in August. Our retail sales have also shown a slight upturn ahead of last year and local sales have improved with the first month’s sales being ahead of the prior year,” the financials stated.

The company continued to experience strong export sales in the quarter, moving from $76.1 million to $102.8 million, while posting net profit of $26.8 million or 35 per cent higher than its March quarter.

Currently, Jamaican Teas has borrowings of $408 million at the end of the June quarter, including $210 million directly relating to the development of properties which is slated to be completed shortly.