History

Founded in 1964 by Jack Rapoport, J. Rapoport Investments Ltd. began as a real estate investment firm with business interests in downtown Toronto. The firm invested in residential properties and redeveloped them into premium assets. Through the late 1960s the company aggressively expanded their holdings. As the company grew, management broadened their focus and began to acquire lands and multifamily assets.

Through opportunity and principled investment, the firm grew into a robust lending business.

By the 1970s, J. Rapoport Investments had evolved into real estate lending. At that time, the Bank Act had been amended (1967) to allow for federally regulated, deposit-taking financial institutions to charge interest at over 6%, and thereby compete in the residential mortgage space. However, under the amended regulations, qualifying for mortgages with chartered banks was rigid and laborious. J. Rapoport Investments identified a gap in the market and began providing prospective homeowners and real estate investors alike access to reliable, efficiently deployed capital. The firm offered first and second mortgages on residential and small to medium-sized commercial assets.

Over the decades, the firm has followed an aggressive growth strategy without compromising it’s book of mortgages. J. Rapoport Investments has achieved success with the help of expertly formulated lending principles. A strict adherence to these secure, yet flexible, lending principles has enabled the firm to build a robust book of hundreds of mortgages. The value and size of the portfolio has grown consistently over the last five decades.

The legacy of J. Rapoport Investments is carried on through present-day Almore Capital Ltd.