Dennise Williams, Staff Reporter
CABLE & Wireless Jamaica (C&WJ) announced Wednesday evening that they are currently negotiating the sale of the seven story Jamintel building on North Street, Kingston.
This sale could conceivably bring $78 million to $97.5 million into C&WJ's coffers. However, the uncertainty of the neighbourhood could affect the final negotiating position.
The information emerged from the Mayberry Monthly Investor's Forum held at the Knutsford Court Hotel on Wednesday where C&WJ President and Chief Executive Officer, Jacqueline Holding, and Chief Financial Officer Andrew Cherry were the featured speakers.
While the executives did not divulge details of the deal, the Financial Gleaner was informed that the property has 65,000 square feet of office space. And according to informed real estate sources, commercial properties in the downtown Kingston region sell for $1,200 to $1,500 per square foot, as compared to similar properties in New Kingston, which command $5,500 per square foot.
RATIONALISATION
In the 1970s, the Jamintel building was the hub and international switching centre for Jamaica International Telecom Services (Jamintel). The Jamaica Telephone Company (JTC) handled domestic telephone services. These two entities were merged into the Telecommunications of Jamaica (ToJ), which by 1989 was taken over by C&WJ.
The sale of the Jamintel building is part of the company's rationalisation of their real estate portfolio under which nine buildings were sold last year. Of the nine, C&WJ says the major ones were a building in Newport West and land at Ironshore in Montego Bay.
Ms. Holding told the audience that C&WJ's strategy for growth meant making the brand strongly associated with life in the Caribbean. "We are one of the major sponsors of Tempo, a new MTV cable channel that focuses on the Caribbean. We expect the channel to launch in September or October of this year."
As the company reorganises its business model to be a leaner, efficient entity, the analysts at Mayberry have listed C&WJ as one of their top stock picks.
According to Keisa Ansine, head of the research department at Mayberry Investments, the stock has appreciated 55 per cent over the last year.
