The Sygnus Group and Acrecent Financial Corporation have announced the expansion of commercial credit financial services and investment options offered in Puerto Rico as they continue to establish their presence in the Spanish-speaking island.

This announcement came at a summit held on March 29 entitled “Catalyzing Economic Growth Through Alternative Investments”, which saw Government officials and members of the Puerto Rican business community in attendance. Acrecent has been in Puerto Rico since July 2003 and has offered opportunistic financing with a focus on senior secured private credit market for small and middle-market businesses.

It will now be expanding its offering to deploy capital to hundreds of SMEs (small and medium enterprises) in sectors such as health care, affordable housing construction, hospitality, and renewable energy which are critical sectors needed to facilitate the development of Puerto Rico. Acrecent has been focusing more on impact investing in recent times which has been complemented alongside the Sygnus Group’s alternative investment platforms in private equity, real estate and private credit.

“The number of companies deciding to expand their goods and services operations from Puerto Rico continues to grow sustainably. This trend is due to the excellent human capital and talent in specialised sectors such as finance, which undoubtedly makes us competitive against the rest of the world. I am a strong believer in this country and in its people. This is the moment to invest in Puerto Rico, and not only in traditional investment. We have the opportunity to create a platform for the sustainable economic development of the island,” commented Secretary of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce of Puerto Rico, Manuel Cidre.

Acrecent Financial deployed US$23.80 million across 28 transactions during the second quarter (October to December), according to Sygnus Credit Investments (SCI) Limited’s quarterly report. Acrecent had a balance sheet of US$64.06 million ($9.87 billion) and shareholders’ equity of US$15.91 million in 2020 before it was acquired by SCI.

Sygnus Credit Investments Puerto Rico Fund LLC acquired 100 per cent of Acrecent for US$21.22 million in February 2022. SCI owns 93.66 per cent membership interest of Sygnus Credit LLC through SCI Puerto Rico Inc with phase II integration for Acrecent to complete shortly.

“To realise the enormous economic and social potential that Puerto Rico has, Sygnus is determined to expand the available investment funds and offer attractive returns to local and foreign investors, while also doubling down on Acrecent’s genuine impact mission to address the chronic gap in access to credit and capital for over 40,000 businesses on the island. With our intention and focus of distributing millions to support numerous businesses across the region, we can expect that many dreams will come true, and we will contribute to a fairer distribution of the wealth generated by this economic activity,” said co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Acrecent James Connor in the release.

SCI plans to continue its expansion into the Puerto Rican market which made up 30.9 per cent of its US$136.07 million portfolio in 2022. This comes as it targets US$300 million in originations over the next three years. It is currently in negotiations for US$100 million in credit facilities from lending partners.

Co-founder, President and CEO of Sygnus Capital Limited Berisford Grey added, “Sygnus manages the largest private credit portfolio in the Caribbean and is one of the largest alternative investment managers in the region. Being here tonight in Puerto Rico to celebrate this major milestone in our Sygnus and Acrecent journey truly solidifies our vision to drive the velocity of economic growth across the Caribbean using innovative financial solutions. Puerto Rico has a US$100 B economy. The alternative investments market in Puerto Rico, like Jamaica is still in its infancy stage, thus the scalability and opportunities are unmatched in the Caribbean. Sygnus’ vision demands of us a relentless aspiration and commitment to unlock capital for businesses which would otherwise not be available, and on the other hand, provide investors with risk-adjusted returns and exposure to alternative asset classes to diversify their portfolio and grow generational wealth.”