JMMB Group to roll more real estate projects
Published:Wednesday | October 15, 2025 | 12:05 AMSteven Jackson/ - Senior Business Reporter
JMMB Group Limited, JMMBGL, will be executing two more commercial real estate projects in Kingston, including a new a 10-storey mixed-use building at Haughton Avenue, plus other developments in urban centres outside the capital.
The company has placed a value of $4.5 billion to $5 billion on its development portfolio to be executed over three to four years.
The company’s first major real estate venture in the current programme was a multi-storey commercial complex at the corner of Hope Road and Liguanea Avenue. The investment in the land and development of the property was about $980 million.
“The Hope Road project is just the beginning. It’s the first of four commercial developments we plan to roll out …,” said Stacey Ann Creary, head of real estate development for subsidiary company, JMMB Real Estate Holdings Limited, at JMMB Group’s annual general meeting.
The company received statutory approvals to advance the Haughton Avenue project as well as another at Harbour Street, in downtown Kingston, and is now in the procurement phase to select contractors. Ground-breaking is expected in the coming months, Creary said.
JMMB Group operates from 6 Haughton Terrace, while one of its branches is at 5 Haughton Avenue in New Kingston. The new structure will be developed “on separate lands owned by JMMB REHL at 9 Garelli and 7 Haughton Avenue”, JMMBGL said in an update to the Financial Gleaner. The complex will include parking and 45,000 square feet of office space.
The Harbour Street urban renewal project, also in Kingston, will renovate 35,000 square feet of commercial space, contributing somewhat to the revitalisation of downtown.
Beyond Haughton Avenue and Harbour Street, the group has two other projects in progress: one in Mandeville at the corner of Brumalia Road and Caledonia Road, which involves the renovation of 20,000 square feet of commercial and office space; and the other in Montego Bay, at Catherine Hall, which is in the planning phase for a three to four-storey office complex.
JMMB Group operates in Jamaica and three other regional markets, offering banking, investment and insurance brokerage services. It also holds a large stake in a regional insurance powerhouse.
In the past financial year ending March 2025, the financial conglomerate posted net profit of $332 million in the last financial year, which was less than one-tenth of the $3.7 billion earnings it reported in FY2024.
The slump continued into the first quarter of the new financial year, with JMMB Group reporting a loss of $686 million, but it was also a substantial improvement over the $1.47 billion of losses recorded in the comparative April-June quarter of 2024.
JMMB Group CEO Keith Duncan ascribed it to fewer impairments, even though the capital markets remain in a “sad” state. He cited the relatively high interest rates that favour fixed-income instruments over riskier assets like stocks and bonds.
The group plans to grow profit and boost its return on equity over the next three years, moving from 11 per cent with $3.70 earnings per share in 2026, to 14 per cent and $5.26 per share in 2027, to 16.9 per cent and $7.10 per share in 2028. JMMBG, JMMBGL, also forecasts 20 per cent annual dividend growth, citing strong fundamentals and capital buffers well above regulatory minimums.
Duncan acknowledged that the past five years have been difficult, particularly in the wake of the pandemic, but emphasised the group’s resilience. “JMMB has strong fundamentals and we are a good buy,” he said.
Duncan said JMMBGL’s intrinsic value stands at $29 per share, yet the stock trades at a one-third discount on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, he noted.
“Is there a good reason the stock price is trading at $18 now? So what are you going to do about it?” Duncan asked as he addressed last Friday’s annual meeting of shareholders. “We know it’s a buy.”
Regionally, JMMBGL continues to explore expansion opportunities, with Guyana and Barbados on its radar. Chairman Archibald Campbell said entry into Guyana has proven difficult.
“We have tried, but it’s a difficult environment to get into. We are noticing it; it’s on our radar,” Campbell said.
Plans for Barbados are still in early stages, with management indicating that groundwork is being laid for future operations.