Massy Holdings Limited is disposing of Massy Properties (Trinidad) Limited (MPTL) to Endeavour Holdings Limited (EHL) in its latest divestment of non-core subsidiaries.

The disclosure was posted on the Trinidad and Tobago Securities and Exchange Commission’s website. MPTL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Massy Holdings and is a property management company. It owns properties such as Uptown Mall and CHIC Building in Trinidad. EHL entered into a share purchase agreement with Massy Holdings on May 31 and expects the transaction to be completed by June 30, subject to the satisfaction of all precedent conditions.

This acquisition will expand EHL’s property portfolio and will generate additional revenue from commercial properties in prime locations. EHL’s nine-month revenue (May 1 to January 31) declined by five per cent to TT$59.89 million ($1.37 billion) as it still hunts for a new tenant at Price Plaza. EHL derives nearly half of its rental income from commercial rental and earns additional income from management fees. It owned 10 properties in 2021.

Net profit increased by six per cent to TT$21.40 million as its corporation tax rate, business and green fund levy became zero due to amendments made to the Finance Act, 2020 covering companies listed on the SME (small and medium enterprises) Market of the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange (TTSE). EHL’s price is down six per cent to TT$7.49 year to date, but it paid a TT$0.40 dividend on April 29 totalling TT$13.16 million. EHL is currently having its full year financials audited.

MPTL’s sale comes at the same time as Massy Realty (Trinidad) Limited ceases operations, with a closing date to be announced in the coming weeks after consultations with agents and management staff to complete any transactions underway. The website stated, “The Massy Group has committed to leveraging and optimising the current configuration of our portfolio, reallocating assets, and sharpening our focus on large and scalable businesses.”

Massy Properties (Barbados) Limited (MPBL) and its division Massy Realty Barbados remain unchanged in recent times. MPBL’s last major transaction was the US$21.45 million sale of its 50.5 per cent stake in Roberts Manufacturing Limited to Proven Investments Limited in June 2021.

Massy has sold more than 15 subsidiary interests since its 2017 financial year (FY) as it recalibrated its operations to focus on its integrated retail (IR), gas products (GP), and motors and machines (MM) portfolios. Its most recent sale included the US$90.5 million disposal of its Barbadian subsidiary Massy United Insurance Limited in May to the Bermuda-based Coralisle Group Limited. The transaction resulted in 14 new markets for the Coralisle Group. The net assets of the insurance subsidiary was TT$614.84 million at the end of the 2021 FY.

Massy sold its 20 per cent stake equally to Cave Shephard & Company Limited and First Global Holdings Limited, a GraceKennedy Limited subsidiary, on January 12. It is currently selling the credit card assets of Massycard (Barbados) Limited to focus on remittances and Endervelt Limited, which is a Trinidadian property holding company.

“From the perspective of growth and M&A, I think that you can expect that will continue and probably will pick up in the next few years. We have some ambitious growth aspirations within each of the portfolios. I know that each of the chairmen have fairly significant pipelines of organic and inorganic opportunities that they are pursuing. Indeed, we expect acquisition activity in the future to really be focused in these areas of the group. That’s probably where the lion’s share of capital will be driven,” said Massy president and group CEO Elliot Gervase Warner at the company’s January annual general meeting.

According to Massy’s 2021 annual report, the three core portfolios have received 73 per cent of the deployed investment capital in the year, with further injections expected during, as the company pursues its expansion strategies and the group’s assets for sale transactions are completed. Each portfolio has its own board of directors and an executive vice-president who serves as the chairman for each board. These transactions have left the group flushed with cash of TT$1.32 billion as of March and debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28 times. The non-core real estate assets are the remaining operating assets, which have a weighted average cost of capital below 9.6 per cent.

Massy’s revenue for the first six months of its current financial year (October 1 to March 31) rose by 10 per cent to TT$6.15 billion ($139.60 billion), with operating profit after finance costs improving by six per cent to TT$433.22 million. IR’s profit before tax (PBT) increased by 25 per cent to TT$256.20 million, GP’s PBT grew by 21 per cent to TT$120.42 million with MM rising by 24 per cent to TT$93.36 million. The Jamaican segment’s revenue improved by 26 per cent to TT$361.12 million with the PBT rising by 14 per cent to TT$28.25 million ($647.88 million).

Total assets grew by six per cent to TT$13.77 billion, with total liabilities and equity attributable to shareholders closing at TT$6.83 billion and TT$6.76 billion, respectively. Shareholders on record as of June 1 will be paid a TT$0.03 dividend ($59.38 million) on June 15. Massy’s TTSE price is flat year to date at TT$5.24, while its Jamaican stock price closed at $95.28.

There have been numerous high-level events at the group level since the start of the 2022 FY. Vaughn Martin was promoted from senior vice-president and executive chairman of Strategic & Other Investments LOB to an executive vice-president (EVP) and executive chairman of the GP Portfolio. David O’Brien will retire on September 30 as EVP and executive chairman of the MM portfolio, with Marc Rostant taking over the role on October 1. Ian Chinapoo will be resigning as EVP and chief financial officer on September 30 to take up the role of CEO at Guardian Holdings Limited on October 1. Robert Riley was also elected deputy chairman and chairman designate of the group’s board.