Need to catch up on business news in Southwest Florida? No problem, here are the top stories of the week, pulled from our daily newsletter, Gulfshore Business Daily.
Friday, Feb. 2
Lee County Permitting up in January
During January, contractors pulled 162 permits to build single-family houses collectively valued at about $35.3 million in unincorporated Lee County. That compares with 126 permits issued in December 2017 and 134 issued in January 2017, according to the Lee County Department of Community Development. Also during January, 26 multi-family units valued at about $3.8 million were permitted, compared with 14 units in December 2017 and six units in January 2017. General commercial activity was valued at about $16.1 million for 10 permits, compared to about $19.5 million in December 2017 and about $9.6 million in January 2017. Lee County Community Development issued 5,704 permits of all kinds in January.
Thursday, Feb. 1
TGR Financial’s 2017 Profit Increases Over ‘16
TGR Financial Inc., the holding company for First Florida Integrity Bank, announced a year-end profit $9.3 million, a 63 percent increase—$3.6 million—over 2016 net income of $5.7 million. The company recorded the year-end figure prior to the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—enacted on Dec. 22—that required companies to adjust deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities by an amount commensurate with the reduction in the federal corporate tax rate to 21 percent. As a result, TGR Financial Inc. reduced its 2017 earnings to $8.1 million. Deposits exceeded $1.1 billion at year-end, an increase of $209 million, year-over-year. And loans increased by $58 million during the year to $968 million as of Dec. 31. “We are very pleased with our 2017 results, and with an improving Florida economy, we look forward to continued performance improvements in 2018,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gary L. Tice in a news release.
Wednesday, Jan. 31
LCEC Recognized as a ‘Center of Excellence’
LCEC announced that it has been recognized as a Certified Center of Excellence for the fifth consecutive year by the industry leader in contact center benchmarking, certification, training, assessments, industry reports and custom consulting, BenchmarkPortal (BMP). Contact centers achieve the Center of Excellence distinction based on best-practice metrics drawn from the world’s largest database of objective and quantitative data that is audited and validated by researchers from BMP.
Tuesday, Jan. 30
Green Among Most Powerful Leaders in Residential Real Estate
Judy Green, chief executive officer of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty,
Monday, Jan. 29
FPRA to Host Award-Winning Journalist
The Southwest Florida Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) will host award-winning American news and sports anchor, businessman, journalist and Screen Actors Guild actor Ed Berliner at an upcoming luncheon, held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Feb. 6 at the Holiday Inn Fort Myers Airport at Town Center. Berliner, who has more than 30 years of experience in broadcast journalism and on-air management roles, will educate attendees on the importance of information gathering and “The 5 W’s” —Who, What, When, Where and Why. The event is tailored specifically for public relations and branding professionals. The cost for attending the luncheon is $25 for members, $30 for nonmembers and $20 for students. Space is limited, so early registration is advised. Guests must RSVP at fpraswfl.org.