Bruce looks like a lady

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Bruce looks like a lady

SuperClubs looks to expand resort in The Bahamas

SuperClubs’ Breezes is in discussions with the Bahamian Government over obtaining additional land to engage in an expansion of its Cable Beach resort property, according to Prime Minister Perry Christie.

Christie pointed to this in addition to the opening of Baha Mar as part of what the Government views as leading to a “renaissance of a special kind” for the area.

Christie pointed to a number of developments which he suggested bode well for the Bahamian economy in 2014.

– Nassau Guardian

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SuperClubs looks to expand resort in The Bahamas

Proven looks to close two private equity deals

PROVEN Investments Limited (PIL) expects to complete two additional private equity deals before year-end.

The firm made the announcement amid reporting solid first-quarter results for the period ending June 30, 2013, with a 25 per cent increase in consolidated net revenue to US$2.6 million, and a 22 per cent improvement in net profit to US$1.03 million for the period compared with the same three months last year.Johann Heaven, the senior vice-president of investments at Proven, said that the investment company’s focus is now on diversifying its revenue streams and building on its private equity portfolio.“These deals will fit nicely in the portfolio and we expect them to provide an above-average return to our shareholders. Our preferred avenue for investment is through mezzanine debt, which is a hybrid of debt and equity financing,” Heaven said.“This financing is in the form of debt capital, where we have the rights to convert to an ownership or equity interest in the company, if we so choose in the future,” he continued.“We are targeting companies that have a solid track record in their industry with an established reputation and product, history of profitability and viable expansion plans for the business. We are seeing numerous opportunities right now and the deal flow has increased considerably over the past few months.”Heaven said that Proven Wealth Limited (PWL) has been growing its off-balance sheet business steadily and has been performing well. The acquisition of the broker dealer licence by PWL last November has already begun to bear fruit, he said, as the company executes on its objective of listing companies on both the Junior and Main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange.PWL successfully raised US$2 million in preference shares for a major corporate during the quarter and will be listing these shares on the Jamaica Stock Exchange before the end of the calendar year, Heaven said.Asset Management Company Limited (AMCL) during the quarter contributed US$160,000 in net revenue to the Proven Group. The company, which offers consumer, personal, student and micro-business loans, saw further growth in its loan portfolio since the start of the financial year as it continues to expand its product offerings and reach through marketing and other initiatives. AMCL has been aggressive in the retail loan space and is seeing the rewards of its efforts with a doubling of the portfolio in just one year.A major project planned for Proven REIT Limited, of which PIL is majority owner with an 85 per cent stake, is scheduled to kick off before the end of the year. Proven REIT Limited provided net rental income of US$6,853 for the quarter under review. Though minute in the context of total revenue, they are in the process of evaluating other properties and expect that this subsidiary will have a very profitable year.PIL reported that its bottom line benefited from robust gains in securities trading and foreign exchange translation during the quarter. Increases in securities trading climbed to US$1.04 million from US$376,000 a year earlier, on the heels of the continued rebound in global asset prices. PIL saw a more than six-fold increase in its foreign exchange translation gains to US$388,000 due to positive movements in their foreign exchange positions. HEAVEN… These deals will fit nicely in the portfolio and we expect them to provide an above-average return to our shareholders

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Proven looks to close two private equity deals

Hockey federation looks to improve coaching, umpiring

TO some it may seem strange that a template used over two decades ago could be the answer in 2013.

But to Nicole Grant-Brown, vice-president of women affairs at the Jamaica Hockey Federation (JHF), the methods used in the country’s past Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games triumph could be the guide to more success.She feels that a focus on the technical aspect and getting more competition for local players could result in a much-needed boost for the sport.“We have to look at how we are going to develop the base… We won CAC in 1990 and there are some things we had done that made us into champions. We may not go back to all the things, but we can pull from some of them. Players were competing a whole lot, so therefore, we have to ensure that now our players are playing a lot more.“What we also have to do now is to involve more coaches. We want to have all these people playing, so how is it that they are going to be coached? We have to develop more coaches,” she recently told the Jamaica Observer Sports Club at the newspaper’s Beechwood Avenue headquarters.Grant-Brown identified a partnership with the University of Technology (UTech) that could bear some fruit.“We are partners pretty much with UTech and they are very much interested in getting more involved in hockey. We want to have a coaching school, and they are ready to partner with us.”She, however, pointed to a massive obstacle that sits in the way of what the federation is trying to achieve. She explained that coaching graduates from GC Foster College inevitably stick to more lucrative sports.“There are coaches at GC Foster, but a lot of these coaches are not focused on hockey. They are going to focus more on the sport that will pay them. We don’t have that kind of funding, so you find that when they graduate from GC Foster they are going to coach football and track and field, and so on. So we have to give more incentive for them to do that (coach hockey),” said the women’s affairs vice-president.Richard Wisdom, vice-president of men’s affairs, said widening and improving the umpiring base, as well as increased attendance at overseas workshops, is another area that the federation has been targeting.He said that since many aspiring umpires are active players, these individuals are being forced to choose between the two.“A challenge for umpires is that they have to choose between playing and officiating because they cannot do both,” he said.Wisdom added that the JHF has been looking to “push persons to go to umpiring seminars so they can come back and impart some of that knowledge to the umpiring or the technical committee”.Also in attendance at the forum were JHF boss Leon Mitchell, director of international affairs and facilities manager Richard Shaw and general secretary Denise Wisdom.Nicole Grant-Brown (left), vice-president of women affairs at the JHF, makes a point to members of the Jamaica Observer Sports Club at the newspaper’s Beechwood Avenue headquarters recently. Looking on is Richard Wisdom, vice-president, men’s affairs at the JHF. (PHOTO: NAPHTALI JUNIOR)

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Hockey federation looks to improve coaching, umpiring