Private equity firm Delta Capital Partners Limited (Delta) is redoubling its efforts to capitalise on growing opportunities in the local and international market which co-founder Zachary Harding said currently opens up approximately US$500 million worth of potential deals for the company.

Harding, who for the last two years has been performing in dual capacity as executive chairman of Delta and chief executive officer (CEO) for Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL), is to demit office at the latter come month end, intending to exclusively focus his attention on the operations of Delta, as he, along with group CEO Ivan Carter, pushes to double down on what they have deemed to be “an uptick in opportunities.”

“We’re now at a stage at Delta where we are seeing a tremendous amount of deal flows, during the pandemic we have been working on a number of deals, several of which are now about to come to fruition and it’s just a matter of me needing to delegate all of my time in getting those across the finish line,” Harding said in an interview with the Jamaica Observer this week.

“We have right now over US$500 million worth of potential deals of which we are in the process of raising at least US$100 million,” he said, indicating that the deals were already in hand with only the funds left to be garnered.

“We’re in the process now for a very large fund raise and with that raise we’ll be able to execute on deals that we have already curated. We have raised about US$10 million so far and have already placed that across several deals. We are now in the final stages of raising capital and then we’ll execute on these deals,” he told the Business Observer.

The deals, which are being spread across various industries in areas such as finance, fintech, real estate, e-commerce, media and entertainment among others, is concentrated across geographic borders. With assets under management (AUM) now totalling US$75 million, Delta said it has invested in about 10 high-impact companies. Some of its latest portfolio projects includes deals with CaribShopper — an e-commerce marketplace; Irie Jam, a media and marketing company, and Piarco Air services in Trinidad.

The private equity firm established to provide capital investment and the financial backing to support mature or growth-oriented businesses helps its clients to build wealth and reap the benefits from cost-effective solutions. Through its far-reaching network, the company said it is able to strategically collaborate with some of the best-in-class partners in the private, non-governmental and inter-governmental spaces to raise funds which are disbursed through a range of investment vehicles.

Crediting good relations and strong partnerships, a sound team and vast knowledge of the market, Harding said the reception of the company, which was launched back in 2020, has to date been both welcoming and promising.

“Our clients see us as operators who can help them to grow their businesses strategically.

“We are seeing a number of oversees people becoming more interested in investing in Jamaica and the Caribbean, so what we have tried to do is to package our deals as a great platform for entry into the Caribbean, hence most of the capital that we are now raising has been coming from overseas,” he said.

Delta’s CEO in a recent company statement said that the firm as it maximises on emerging opportunities in Jamaica, the Caribbean and North America will continue its mandate of acquiring, investing in, and launching entities that have the potential to generate positive returns while having a strong impact on the lives of people.

“With the uptick in Delta’s opportunities, it is all hands on deck, and I welcome the full-time dedication and focus of founder and exec-chair Harding,” Carter said.

SSL, which prides itself on being the second-oldest brokerage house in the country, will in the meanwhile reinvest in its core business, as it continues in providing comprehensive wealth management to clients. With its founder Hugh Croskery also having a stake in Delta’s operation, the management of both entities have indicated that there could be collaborative opportunities in the future which could see them taking advantage of the increasing access to deal flows, especially within the Caribbean.