Corporate Report

Corporate Report

Clockwork Home Services shows

franchise growth in third quarter

corporate report by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

Clockwork Home Services of Sarasota reported considerable growth in the number of franchises in many of its divisions in the third quarter.

From July through September, Clockwork added 27 new plumbing, air conditioning and heating, and electrical franchises. The company now has franchises of various services in 566 markets.

Its Benjamin Franklin Plumbing division added seven new franchises, and now serves 249 markets across the country including South Jordan, Utah; Santa Maria, Calif.; North Port, Fla.; Staten Island, N.Y.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Hot Springs, Ark.; and Carlisle, Pa.

There are now 241 markets with One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating franchises with 12 new ones in Cave Creek and Sierra Vista in Arizona; Shelton, Conn.; Ames, Iowa; Rapid City, S.D.; Hurs, Texas; Boise, Ind.; Ogden, Utah; Cherry Hill, Vineland and Mount Laurel in New Jersey; and Greensburg, La.

Eight new Mister Sparky electrician contractor franchises have been launched in Lake Ariel and Lancaster, Pa.; Pompano Beach and Mulberry in Florida; Amarillo, Texas; Cape May, N.J.; Alhambra, Calif.; and Fort Collins, Colo. There are now 76 nationwide.

"Despite the slow economy or perhaps, partly because of it contractors are continuing to recognize the benefits of banding together under a nationally franchised brand," Tab Hunter, president of franchise operations for Clockwork, said in a press release. "The pace of growth for Clockwork's contracting franchises is a testament to the sound business model, outstanding franchisee support and consumer confidence in our brands."

Clockwork also operates company-owned contractors in these home services.

Brown & Brown company

buys Agency Associates

Affiliated entities of Daytona Beach- and Tampa-based Brown & Brown Inc. purchased the assets of Agency Associates Inc., Zionsville, Ind. Agency Associates had combined annual revenues of $5.2 million and offered property and casualty insurance, employee benefits insurance, and financial planning products and services throughout the state.

Brown & Brown's Indianapolis and Agency Associates' Zionsville operations will move into one location in the northern part of the Indianapolis market. The combined office will be under the leadership of Fred McClaine, one of the former principals of Agency Associates. Brown & Brown Inc. offers insurance and reinsurance products and services, as well as risk management, third-party administration, managed health care, and Medicare set-aside services and programs.

First National Bank startup

capital reaches $36.4 million

First National Bank of the Gulf Coast (in organization), a new independent community bank planning to open in Naples, has exceeded its minimum level of initial capital of $36.4 million.

The organizers have agreed to continue to accept additional subscriptions up to a maximum of $43.2 million.

The bank is expected to open in January with its headquarters and main banking office located at 3560 Kraft Road, just off Pine Ridge Road. A second office in Naples, at 811 Anchor Rode Drive, is planned to open in March.

A local group led by Gary Tice, chairman and CEO, and Garrett S. Richter, president, is organizing the bank. Tice and Richter were both previously involved in the founding of First National Bank of Naples, which was acquired by Fifth Third Bank in 2005.

"We are extremely pleased to exceed the minimum level of initial capital required to open the bank and the community's overwhelming support in the organization of First National Bank of the Gulf Coast," Tice said in a press release. "It is especially gratifying since 80% of the investors who purchased shares in the bank are from the Southwest Florida area, making First National Bank a truly, locally owned, community bank."

First National Bank of the Gulf Coast has received preliminary approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. It is anticipated that final approval will be received prior to the end of this year.

Partnership for Diamondhead

Casino in Delta area is delayed

Citing the current economy, Casinos Austria International Holding has backed off plans to partner with Largo-based Diamondhead Casino Corp. to develop, build and operate a casino resort in Mississippi.

In June, the two companies signed a non-binding letter of intent, the conditions of which were later extended after Casinos Austria International asked for more time to examine the deal.

On Nov. 4, Casinos Austria International informed Diamondhead Casino that, although it still believes in the project, it is ending related activities until the market recovers and successful financing for the project is available, and it hopes to continue with it as soon as the economy and credit markets improve.

In the interim, Diamondhead Casino announced it plans to explore financing options for the project.

"We are pleased that Casinos Austria International Holding, GMBH still believes in our project and hopes to continue as soon as the economic situation permits," Deborah A. Vitale, president and CEO of Diamondhead Casino, said in a press release. "The gaming industry, like other industries, has been forced to put various projects on hold due to the current financial crisis. Like our competitors, given the substantial financing required for our project, we are not immune to the crisis."

Diamondhead Casino, through its subsidiary, Mississippi Gaming Corp., owns and intends to develop about 404 acres of land in Diamondhead, Miss.

Hanover Capital Mortgage

reports JWH merger to SEC

Hanover Capital Mortgage Holdings Inc. has filed a registration statement and related proxy statement/prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the proposed merger of JWH Holding Co. LLC, the finance and homebuilding subsidiary of Tampa-based Walter Industries, into Hanover.

The company surviving the merger, which will be renamed Walter Investment Management Corp., is expected to list its shares on the NYSE Alternext Exchange, formerly the American Stock Exchange, under the ticker symbol "WAC."

Prior to the merger, Walter Industries plans to distribute its interest in JWH Holding Co. to Walter Industries' stockholders.

Hanover Capital Mortgage Holdings Inc. is a specialty finance company organized in June 1997 as a real estate investment trust.

JWH Holding Co. houses a $1.8-billion mortgage portfolio.

Walter Industries is a producer and exporter of metallurgical coal for the global steel industry and also produces steam coal, coal bed methane gas, furnace and foundry coke, and other related products.

Sunovia Energy

debuts EvoLucia

LED product line

Sarasota's Sunovia Energy Technologies Inc. has introduced EvoLucia LED, a line of general utility lights including spotlights, floodlights and general landscape lighting.

The new EvoLucia LED lights use significantly less electricity than incandescent, quartz or metal halide lights with negligible light loss for more than 10 years of the product's life. As a result, the lights facilitate energy and cost savings while providing quality lighting and product longevity. Sunovia developed the new product line in partnership with Precision Lighting and Beacon Products, members of the Varon Lighting Group, which will be handling distribution in multiple markets.

"The new EvoLucia LED general utility lights are a perfect application of our advanced LED lighting technology, which provides a better quality of light while using significantly less energy," John LaCorte, Sunovia's vice president of global logistics and business development, said in a press release. "The fixtures are ideal for industrial, manufacturing and warehouse applications, or for any business desiring to decrease lighting energy and maintenance costs and carbon footprint."

In other news, Sunovia and EPIR Technologies Inc. report they have successfully demonstrated an optical down-conversion technology for increasing solar-cell energy efficiency. The system, which uses glass ceramic materials containing ultra-small crystalline particles, transforms the sun's ultraviolet light into visible light which can then be processed more effectively by the solar cell into energy. Previously, much of the energy from UV light couldn't be converted into electricity.

The technology can be applied to most existing rigid solar cells already on the market.

Sunovia Energy Technologies is a renewable energy and energy conservation company that is commercializing advanced, cost-effective, cadmium telluride solar cell and infrared technologies.