MegaMart Catherine Hall property goes on sale for US$15 million
The property that once housed MegaMart’s Montego Bay operations has gone on sale for US$15.09 million, or $2.41 billion, nearly eight months following the impact of Hurricane Melissa on western Jamaica.
Cost Club Limited, trading as Megamart Wholesale Club, occupied the 89,674 square feet property since December 2007 when it first opened to customers in western Jamaica. However, the location was closed following the devastation caused by the Category 5 storm which flooded the location and left substantial damage.
The former Catherine Hall location is being offered on an ‘as-is’ basis, with realtor REMAX Elite Realty indicating that the property could be used for a range of commercial uses.
The property and building is being sold by Wilco Ltd which acquired the property in April 2015 for US$1.05 million ($119.63 million). The location was developed at a cost of US$20 million ($1.3 billion).
The MegaMart Catherine Hall and Portmore properties were sold to a group of pension funds in 2013 as part of a sale and leaseback transaction that was arranged by Scotia Investments Jamaica Limited (SIJL). That deal, which was reportedly valued at $2.3 billion, resulted in MegaMart maintaining operations at both locations and receiving cash from the transaction, but paying a monthly lease cost under a 15 year lease arrangement.
The Portmore location closed on June 30, 26 years after it opened in September 1999. The loss-making location was effectively subsidised by the operations of the Catherine Hall location. The closure of both locations resulted in the loss of more than 300 jobs as Cost Club undergoes a strategic consolidation for its remaining two locations.
The Portmore property was transferred in January 2013 for $1.05 billion. The owner is listed as Scotia Investments Jamaica on the property title, but transfer documents lists the National Insurance Fund (NIF), SIJL NCB Insurance Company Limited, Montego Bay I.T. Centre Limited, Grace, Kennedy & Co. Limited Pension Scheme, Jamaica Money Market Brokers Limited (JMMB) and Appliance Traders Group Pension Scheme as paying a transfer tax. The future of this property is unknown at this time.
Scojampen Limited, The Bank of Nova Scotia Pension Fund, owns the MegaMart Mandeville location while Lord Nelson Investment Limited owns the Waterloo Road location in St Andrew.
