Proven Group Ltd., a Jamaican group with over $1 billion in total assets, unveiled plans to establish a physical presence in The Bahamas and is supplying the $20 million financing for the Bahamas government’s 365-lot Renaissance at Carmichael Housing Subdivision, The Tribune, one of The Bahamas’ leading newspapers, reported Friday.
Christopher Williams, president and CEO of Proven Management, the entity that manages Proven Group, was quoted by Jamaican media as saying the company already has “a great relationship” with Bahamas Prime Minister Philip E. Davis and his Cabinet ministers.
“Within the three platforms, Proven Wealth Jamaica is well-known, well-established and has been creeping into The Bahamas,” Williams said. “So, we have been flying in, building relationships and we’re looking now to establish brick and mortar on the ground in The Bahamas.”
When asked about the state of the Bahamian economy, Williams replied: “It’s rebounding very well. The international banking space in The Bahamas is very strong, the real estate space is strong and, of course, the tourism space is strong. We like the economy, and so the Prime Minister and his ministers have been very welcoming to us. We have a great relationship with them.”
Proven Group has strong political connections in Jamaica. One of Proven Management’s co-founders and a current director, Mark Golding, is leader of Jamaica’s principal opposition party, the People’s National Party (PNP), while another co-founder and fellow director, Peter Bunting, served alongside him in the last of Portia Simpson-Miller’s Cabinets.
Another co-founder and director of both Proven Group and Proven Management, Garfield ‘Garry’ Sinclair, is former chief executive at the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC).