TWO months after iCreate Limited founder, chairman and CEO Tyrone Wilson announced he will ask shareholders at a now-postponed annual general meeting (AGM) to change the name of the company to iCreate Group “to reflect the transformation of the company from a digital and creative training company, to a digital and creative group of companies”, he has now signalled that the name change will be different.

The original hybrid format AGM was set for August 15, but that has now been pushed back to October 2 and in a notice for the AGM posted on Monday on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE), a change that may be easily glossed over, that is, the name change being proposed is no longer from iCreate Limited to iCreate Group, with Wilson and his board instead proposing to change the name of the company to Kintrye Holdings (Jamaica) Limited.

“The move to Kintyre Holdings has always been a longer-term strategic plan for us as a company, but it required building out iCreate Group a bit more before moving to that level,” Wilson told the Jamaica Observer Monday about the proposal for the name change.

It’s a move that Wilson said “was always in the works”, but it also gives credence and recognition to Kintyre, the community in which he grew, located in St Andrew, on the side of a mountain immediately east of the Hope River, just behind nearby Papine, and is accessible only by way of a metal driving bridge.

“The name Kintyre holds deep personal significance for me. I grew up in the Kintyre community in Papine, Jamaica, and it’s where my journey really began. That community shaped me — taught me resilience, perseverance, and the importance of working hard to overcome challenges. Naming the company Kintyre Holdings is a tribute to where I’m from, and a reminder of the values that have guided me throughout my career,” Wilson said about the decision to rename the company Kintyre Holdings (Jamaica) Limited.

“It’s more than just a name; it’s a reflection of the journey from humble beginnings to expanding into new industries and creating lasting impact.”

This Kintyre Holdings (Ja) Limited, Wilson pointed out, should not be confused with Kintyre Holdings Limited, the entity through which he owns 41.8708 per cent of iCreate Limited. Wilson also owns another 20.9129 per cent of iCreate through two entities, Emedia Interactive Group and AHL (SPV) Limited.

Upon a name change to Kintyre Holdings (Ja), iCreate Limited, the founding company in the group that provides training in the creative space, will become a subsidiary of Kintyre, as would GetPaid, Visual Vibe and Parallel Real Estate Ventures. As at the end of 2023, iCreate owned 51 per cent of GetPaid, a technology integration company, and 70 per cent of Visual Vibe, a video board advertising company. iCreate’s annual report for 2023 lists Parallel Real Estate as a related party company with Wilson as its director, though it is unclear how it now relates to iCreate itself. That entity is building residences in St Ann called The Chalet – a high-end luxury apartment complex. Wilson said over US$1.1 million has been spent on The Chalet so far with the timeline for delivery moving from 18 months to 26 months, meaning delivery of the units is now planned for 2025. The company has also acquired a 20 per cent stake in Sevens Ultra Lounge Restaurant through share swap. That restaurant has been operational for the last two years but is now undergoing renovation for reopening in October. Before, it only operated from 5:00 pm each day but will see longer opening hours with plans to move into the lunch market when reopened. We were told it realised about $85 million in revenues last year and was started by Donald Young, who invested over $40 million to get it up and running.

For Wilson, it’s a realisation of growth he said he desired the company to have, but “challenges” over the last few years led to some of the initiatives falling through, he told the Business Observer. Among those challenges “slowing the growth drive” is the acquisition of Ideas Execution Limited, a branding and trade marketing company for which he signed an agreement in February 2023 to acquire, but issues which arose then culminated in that deal falling through by June in the same year. Wilson had also announced a plan for a Creative City, but that has not seen the light of day, either.

“Instead of focusing on those, since some of them fell through, we decided to activate the next level in the business growth which is an investment holding company with a broader interest in other sectors,” he said.

“We are looking at a diversified holding company. The foundation of that starts with iCreate which is the institute, Visual Vibe and GetPaid on the digital/creative side, but now we are looking to build out in other industries such as real estate with The Chalet, and we are looking at other projects on the table; we are in the food and beverage market which is part of the broader hospitality and tourism segment and, of course, fintech with GetPaid.”

He said with Kintyre Holdings (Ja), the company will be looking to spread its wings into and beyond the Caribbean and has added Nick Rowles-Davies to its board, appointing him as the chairman of the newly created corporate governance and investment committees, effective September 9.

“His appointment is a critical part of our planned transition from iCreate Limited to Kintyre Holdings (Ja) Limited, as we build a world-class diversified investment holding company,” Wilson said, in a release to the JSE on Monday. Rowles-Davies comes with 20 years’ experience in legal finance and investment management.

“In January 2011, he launched Vannin Capital, which quickly became one of the leading international litigation funders. Under his leadership, Vannin Capital increased its immediately available facility from £25 million to £100 million, making it the largest private equity-backed funder of litigation globally. His career also includes senior roles such as CEO of Lexolent Limited, where he launched the world’s first global legal finance network, and executive vice-chairman at Litigation Capital Management Limited, listed on the London Stock Exchange, where he led global origination and successfully completed multiple fund raises, including an AIM IPO,” the notice to the JSE about Rowles-Davies’ appointment read. He operates in both the UK and the British Virgin Islands.

But Rowles-Davies comes with his own baggage. A casual search of his name shows he was dismissed in 2021 from Litigation Capital Management (LCM) “on the grounds of gross misconduct”. A December 2021 statement to the London Stock Exchange said the termination of Rowles-Davies’ employment “follows the identification of certain expenses claims which have been made in contravention of LCM’s Global Expense Guidelines and Policy”, though the statement added that “while the breaches are a significant violation of internal company policies, their quantum is not material to LCM’s financial condition and performance”.

Wilson addressing that issue said he has seen the articles about Rowles-Davies’ dismissal, but puts it down to the UK market being “more strict” adding that the attorney who funds litigation proceedings stepped away, though the release to the stock exchange said he was dimissed.

“When we looked at all the articles [out there about the issue] and talking to Nick, it was just a simple matter, but he did the right thing of just looking to move away from it.

“When you have breaches like that in more mature markets that hold you to a higher standard, it’s important to just step away. But he has also started his own funds that is similar to the same company that he was CEO of and he is currently managing over US$60 million in funding, and so forth. He continuees to be well-respected in the litigation funding space which he pioneered and he is operating in multiple markets as well including Dubai and the UK,” he pointed out as he added, “The charges were minor compared to even some of the challenges we here at iCreate have had as a business.”

As head of the investment committee, Rowles-Davies will be charged with spearheading the buildout of Kintyre Holdings (Ja) to a global company. Wilson however said he is not an investor in the company at this time.

“He will also be assisting us with connections to capital markets in other countries like Dubai and the UK which he has already started,” Wilson added.

He said he visited Dubai a few months ago and found “some opportunities there in terms of digital out of home advertising” which he plans to exploit through Visual Vibe, and is looking to raise funds to do so at the moment, though he said he couldn’t disclose the details now citing the talks are in the early stage. In addition to building Visual Vibe outside of Jamaica, Wilson said the company will also be going through with plans to expand its presence locally from 13 screens across downtown Kingston, Half-Way-Tree, St Andrew; Spanish Town and Portmore in St Catherine; Mandeville in Manchester; Ocho Rios in St Ann; and Montego Bay in St James.

To build out his plan, iCreate Limited or better yet, Kintyre Holdings (Ja) when its name is changed, will need capital. Rowles-Davies is helping in that regard and the form the capital will take, whether “an IPO of Visual Vibe or debt financing” is yet to be determined. But Wilson said the company may need as much as US$50 million ($7.8 billion) to complete the immediate plans. But that would put the company in deeper breach with the JSE rules on share capital for Junior Market companies. Currently, companies listed on the junior market are allowed a maximum of $500 million in share capital. At the moment, iCreate is above that threshold with $587 million in share capital. Wilson, noting the breach and acknowledging that it means he should move iCreate to the main market, said he has written to the JSE requesting to remain on the junior market, but the Business Observer was unable to immediately verify the status of that request with the JSE.

Visual Vibe, since its acquisition, has added significantly to the group, stabilising operations and strengthening cash flows and putting iCreate Limited in a better position and also attracted other private investors such as TJBK Holdings which also owns stakes in Sygnus Real Estate, Sygnus Credit, Proven Group and Caribbean Producers Jamaica. It is operated by Anthony Dunn, who is also a director of iCreate Limited.