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Butler Snow attorneys Jetson G. Hollingsworth and John F. England were recently mentioned in an article by the Clarion Ledger. The article discusses opportunity zones in Mississippi.
The following is an excerpt from the article:
Jet Hollingsworth and John England are attorneys at Butler Snow and they have been connecting clients to potential Opportunity Zone projects. They said they’ve closed about 20 projects, five of which are based in Mississippi.
“It took the (U.S.) Treasury (Department) a while to get out the regulations,” Hollingsworth said. “… There was some hesitancy from investors on the front end because there wasn’t a whole lot of guidance.”
Now investors are getting more comfortable with putting their capital gains into these projects, Hollingsworth said, which is money that might otherwise “be sitting on the sidelines.”
According to Hollingsworth, Opportunity Zones are also driving interest among investors who are also interested in more than making money.
“There are a number of investors that are actively looking for those type of funds that can provide not just value in terms of economic return, (but also) social value return,” he said. “To see that happen with this program is actually pretty exciting.”
State governors are in charge of submitting a list of proposed Opportunity Zones to the federal government, and Hollingsworth said Gov. Phil Bryant was one of the first to submit his list.
Earlier this fall investors, developers and local officials from across the South came to Jackson for a convention on Opportunity Zones — and how to take advantage of them.
“I feel like it’s just getting started,” England said. “…You’re gonna see a lot more transactions going forward. I’m hopeful for that… I think you’re gonna see the program mature in a good way.”
