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Spur Tree Spices Oversubscribed– First Company to List on the JSE Junior Market in 2022

Spur Tree Spices Jamaica made history as the very first company to list on the Junior Market since the start of 2022. They also became the 43rd company to list on the Junior Market. Spur Tree Spices has joined a growing number of companies that have decided that it is exciting to list at the beginning of the year. The offer of 335,391,848 shares at a price of $1.00 per share opened to the market on December 29, 2021 and was oversubscribed by 300%. They also added 4,794 shareholders in the process. With this listing, the market capitalization of the Junior Market increased from $160.1 billion as at Thursday, January 13 to $161.8 billion. This is a stark contrast to the JSE’s first listing where the market capitalization stood at $503 million. The combined market capitalization for all markets now stands at $1.87T.

According to Dr. Marlene Street Forrest, Managing Director of the JSE “The Company is listing on a vibrant market which closed the year with an index up by nearly 30%. The offer which was oversubscribed confirms that there is still an appetite, for good companies in which to invest, despite that fact that we are still in a pandemic. The market has also signaled that there is a definite appreciation for this company, that there is liquidity in the market and that there is still confidence in the market.  Including the $335 million raised by Spur Tree, the total capital raised by the companies listed on the Junior Market now amounts to $12.95 billion since inception of this market, fulfilling the objective of the Junior Market, which is to enable access to equity capital.

“If Spur Tree Spices can list its Company on the Board of the Jamaica Stock Exchange any company can. It takes hard work and dedication and a collaborative effort from all. We at Spur Tree Spices are a small, but agile organization, and we make use of all the opportunities that are available to us. We are also an export driven organization that believes in growth and not only that we can do it, but that all the companies in Jamaica can do it and by extension, the nation. This won’t be the last time we will be standing here at the Stock Exchange. We will be taking advantage of all the products and services available to us from the JSE. We will also endeavor to be a Model Company which upholds good corporate governance: our shareholders can depend on us to do this” said Mr. Albert Bailey, the CEO of Spur Tree Spice Jamaica.

Mr. Bailey shared the stage with his very good friend and colleague Mr. Anand James – Director and Founding Member, who told the audience, that “One of my greatest dreams has been fulfilled today, to stand and see the listing of a company that we have all worked hard to develop over the last eight years. This is one of the greatest achievements of my life. This is no longer a dream. It is reality, and it takes great work ethics to do this.”

Speaking at the event, Mr. Douglas Robinson – Managing Director (Acting) for GK Capital, the Lead broker, told the audience “The lime-light is on the Listed Company, Spur Tree Spice Jamaica as they are the ones that have done the hard work and allow us to be here. We are very thankful to them for making GK Capital the Lead Broker. We are happy to be a part of a vibrant capital market and we have several things in the pipeline; therefore, investors can wait in anticipation for these as we work to satisfy our customers.