ABOUT US
From a single brokerage office in 2001 to a vertically integrated real estate conglomerate spanning development, management, private equity, investments and lending.
Since 2001 · Puerto Rico
AGF Group (AGF) is a Puerto Rico based family conglomerate group who started in the real estateindustry with a sale brokerage company called Global Equities Realty, PSC (GER). In only five yearsGERbecame the third largest residential sales brokerage firm in Puerto Rico, reaching over $60 million in sale 2006 (Caribbean Business Newspaper Annual Bool of Lists).
Ever since the 2008 market meltdown GER’s principal evolved and crossed over to acquire distress (dark)assets; among them REO’s and mortgage notes primarily from banks and private equity portfolios. Thesepaved the way for AGF to become a diversified development group of engineers, architects, attorneys,appraisers, brokers and contractors engaging primarily in redevelopment of existing commercial propertiesand converting them to their highest and best use.
Dialysis Network
Ángel Ocasio-Figueroa is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of AGF Group. With more than 35 years of executive leadership experience, he has built a distinguished career spanning retail operations, real estate development, private equity, finance, investment management, and corporate leadership.
Prior to founding AGF Group, Mr. Ocasio was recruited by Walmart’s International Division following a personal invitation to meet Sam Walton at the company’s Bentonville headquarters. He became the youngest Walmart General Manager in the United States at age 22, leading a $35 million operation with more than 350 associates and playing an instrumental role in the launch of Walmart’s first store outside the continental United States. Following his retail career, he founded one of Puerto Rico’s leading luxury residential brokerage firms, later recognized as one of the Caribbean’s top residential real estate companies.
Throughout his career, he has developed and managed successful ventures in real estate, hospitality, food services, education, finance, and private investment.
Juan E. De Jesús is Vice President of Leasing and Administration for AGF Group. With more than 30 years of experience, he specializes in commercial operations, project management, leasing, industrial logistics, and commercial real estate administration.
Throughout his career, he has managed projects for Fortune 500 companies and multinational organizations including Hilton, Pfizer, Abbott, Lilly, Merck, Goya, Chiquita, Del Monte, Dole, CODELCO, BHP, the Panama Canal Authority, and Empresas Fonalledas. His executive leadership has contributed to the expansion of business operations throughout Latin America while successfully managing commercial portfolios, shopping centers, and large-scale development projects.
José R. Cestero Casanova is a seasoned real estate professional with more than 30 years of experience in valuation, development, brokerage, housing finance, loan structuring, property management, urban redevelopment, and restructuring in Puerto Rico and Florida.
His professional background combines extensive private-sector banking and development experience with high-level public-sector leadership in housing finance and redevelopment.
Jorge L. Covas-Mendoza is a partner at Cancio Covas & Santiago, LLP, one of Puerto Rico’s leading full-service law firms serving a broad range of clients across diverse industries and areas of practice. Mr. Covas has participated in transactions involving the issuance of municipal bonds, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt hospital revenue bonds, and tourism revenue bonds. He has also participated in the negotiation and drafting of closing documents for complex real estate transactions, stock and asset acquisitions, mergers, and joint ventures, including the acquisition of the Caribe Hilton Hotel by Hilton International.
His experience also includes a number of lease-backed, government-sponsored real estate development projects for use by global research and development, information technology, and manufacturing companies. Mr. Covas has advised clients in the organization of corporations and the planning and implementation of corporate recapitalizations, spin-offs, and other corporate restructurings. He has also participated in negotiations and drafted documents in connection with the privatization of government assets and services, including representing the Government of Puerto Rico during its initial efforts to privatize the public health system. He has prepared and negotiated loan and security documents, as well as repurchase and purchase-and-sale documents for collateralized notes and other securities, for the corporate banking, structured finance, investments, asset-based lending, and workout divisions of the largest commercial bank in Puerto Rico. His experience includes trades and workouts of distressed loans, leveraged buyouts, and project financings.
Carlos Sánchez-González, P.E., is Senior Vice President of CPH Corp. at its San Juan, Puerto Rico office. CPH is a multinational engineering, architecture, and infrastructure consulting firm serving public- and private-sector clients. With more than 25 years of experience in structural and civil engineering, Carlos has led the design, planning, permitting, land development, and construction management of major commercial, industrial, institutional, and government projects throughout Puerto Rico, Florida, and the Caribbean.
His experience includes assignments involving Walmart, CVS, AutoZone, utility companies, pharmaceutical facilities, and agencies of the United States and Puerto Rico governments. In addition to his responsibilities at CPH, Carlos serves as Senior Engineering & Development Advisor to AGF Group, supporting select real estate and development ventures and helping ensure compliance with engineering, regulatory, construction, and sustainability standards.
Mr. Ríos-Méndez is one of PMA’s tax partners, and his practice focuses on international tax matters, inbound and outbound corporate reorganizations, registered investment companies, structured investment vehicles, and other complex federal, international, and Puerto Rico tax law matters. Mr. Ríos-Méndez has been actively involved in several major tourism-related projects in Puerto Rico, particularly in connection with the negotiation of tax incentive grants and the sale of tourism investment tax credits. In the Puerto Rico industrial tax incentive sector, Mr. Ríos-Méndez has assisted clients in both the industrial and service sectors and has actively participated in the negotiation of tax incentives for clients in the financial services industry.
Mr. Ríos-Méndez is also recognized for his experience advising clients relocating to Puerto Rico under Acts 20, 22, and 273 of 2012, addressing matters that include bona fide residency, community property, inbound
Cancio Covas & Santiago, LLP
Cancio Covas & Santiago LLP serves as AGF Group’s Professional Legal Counsel, providing
comprehensive legal representation in corporate finance, banking, commercial real estate,
development, public-private partnerships, securities, and complex commercial transactions.
The firm has represented major financial institutions, developers, government agencies,
multinational corporations, and investment groups in sophisticated financing, mergers and
acquisitions, bond issuances, hospitality developments, and infrastructure projects throughout
Puerto Rico and the United States.
What We Do
Ground-up commercial and medical buildings designed for institutional tenants.
Hands-on stewardship of shopping centers, medical plazas and office portfolios.
Strategic capital deployed into real estate-backed opportunities across the Caribbean and Florida.
Diversified positions in income-producing assets and emerging market plays.
Direct lending against real estate collateral, structured for speed and certainty of close.