Kingston Properties Limited (KPREIT) is moving to raise new equity capital through an additional public offering (APO) as it moves closer to achieving its US$100-million ($15.88 billion) asset target.

The real estate company published an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) notice on July 8, where it outlined four resolutions. The first resolution seeks to lift the company’s authorised share capital limit from a maximum of two billion ordinary shares to an unlimited number of ordinary shares. KPREIT currently has 884 million ordinary shares in issuance.

The next two resolutions request permission from the company’s shareholders to offer new shares to the public and convert the new shares to stock units upon issue. The final resolution seeks permission to issue new shares from the APO in denominated currencies to be determined by the directors. KPREIT’s financials are presented in United States dollars (USD), but the company’s shares are issued in Jamaican dollars (JMD). The Jamaica Stock Exchange has a USD Market where securities are traded in USD.

KPREIT’s last APO in June 2022 saw the company raise $1.55 billion or a net amount of US$9.62 million at $7.50 per share. The company raised $650 million in August 2015 at $7 ($3.50 post-split) and $1.93 billion (US$14.39 million) at $5.62 per share in November 2019. KPREIT’s stock closed at $9.63 on Monday with a market capitalisation of $8.53 billion (US$52.92 million). The EGM will be held at KPREIT’s head office at 36-38 Red Hills Road at 10 am on August 10.

KPREIT was formed in April 2008 as the Carlton Savannah (REIT) Jamaica Limited with a focus on a Trinidad real estate project. The company has since expanded its horizons and currently has investment properties in Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, United States of America, and United Kingdom. Jamaica and the Cayman Islands were 44 per cent each of KPREIT’s direct investment property portfolio, with seven per cent in the UK and five per cent in the USA.

That direct investment property portfolio was worth US$76.17 million along with a US$4.44 million investments in real estate property funds. The company’s overall asset base at US$86.6 million, while its equity base was US$51.81 million, which translated to a book value of US$0.0586 per share ($9.42). KPREIT paid a total dividend of US$0.001624 or US$1.44 million during 2024.

According to the company’s 2024 annual report, it wants to achieve targets of US$100 million in assets under management or ownership and generating US$2 million in funds from operations (FFO) for the 2026 financial year. KPREIT’s FFO dipped from US$1.37 million in 2023 to US$765,987 in 2024, which was attributed to higher interest expenses, one-off expenses related to vacancies and one tenant becoming bankrupt during 2024.

KPREIT’s rental income grew 23 per cent during 2024 to US$4.72 million as it benefited from higher rental rates and the latest acquisitions to its portfolio. The company’s net profit increased 16 per cent to US$5.37 million as it benefited from higher fair value gains and the gain on disposal of the Tropic Centre in the Cayman Islands.

During KPREIT’s first quarter (January to March), the company’s rental income grew 24 per cent to US$1.38 million, but profit before tax dipped five per cent to US$895,942 due to higher finance costs. Net profit grew six per cent to US$1 million after accounting for a US$105,495 tax credit. FFO improved 55 per cent to US$519,851.

KPREIT purchased an office building in Dorking Business Park on March 31 for US$4.62 million. This purchase was funded with the company’s cash on hand and a US$1-million loan from CIBC Caribbean Bank (Jamaica). KPREIT also reclassified an investment property to held for sale with a value of US$3.80 million. KPREIT did not consider a dividend during the first half of 2025 as seen with prior periods.

A building on 591 Spanish Town Road was affected by a fire on June 23. That KPREIT property had a value of US$3.36 million in 2024.