COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES the Devil Is in the Detail It Is During Our Darkest Moments That We Must Focus to See the Light
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REFINED One6 Temple PostSquare Tower Greystone Nestoil Tower Tower 1 2 3 4 5 Strategy Vs Lease Competence Lease Clauses Time Renewal and Expertise Transaction COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES The Devil is in the detail It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. - Aristotle - COLLABORATION; The New Competition WE SHOWED NIGERIA TO THE WORLD COLLABORATING FOR FINANCIAL PROG- RESS In October 2017, as the recession gradually ebbed, Fine & Country in partnership with other vi- The Finer Wealth Club is a gender-based initia- sionary businesses; Business Day, Eko Atlantic, tive of Fine & Country to give a unique access for Landmark Africa took the audacious step to show women interested in investing in real estate- from Nigeria to the world- with a distinguished repre- entry level first timers to astute investors who al- sentation of properties and projects. Our objective ready have a growing portfolio. This women-only was clear; educate, inspire & ignite the confidence investment club presents a unique opportunity for of Nigerians in the Diaspora. We were honored resource platform for women and their families to with the presence of industry leaders & real estate gain access to trusted real estate insight and op- experts at the Landmark Hotel in London, UK. portunities, and to achieve better returns through Fine & Country had on display several profitable collaboration. & iconic projects- from the Eko Atlantic; a first of its kind in the industry to the Greystone Towers; The Club was launched on March 1st at The Fin- with its signature organic & warm glass façade; the ery, Ikoyi and aims to build a community of wom- Diaspora investors were very impressed with the en with shared vision, shared valued & shared projects on display as we got interests & commit- profit. ments from those who had been looking forward to investing in Nigeria but had not found a suit- Our other progressive platform is The Power Bro- able opportunity. kers Circle. The vision of the Power Brokers Cir- cle is to educate, empower & connect real estate PARTNERING FOR LEADERSHIP brokers with other real estate professionals while providing a platform for networking, business de- As part of our commitment to building a cutting velopment and mutual financial fulfilment. Fine edge/world class real estate industry in Nigeria- & Country has hosted two editions; with topics Fine & Country’s Institute of Real Estate Excel- ranging from ‘The Psychology of Selling’ with lence in collaboration with Lagos Business School Lanre Olusola to Confidence, Competence & has developed a front-line curriculum for industry Connection as the flagship topic. professionals as well as industry enthusiasts. This program- billed to kick off in 2018 is aimed at de- It is our firm belief at Fine & Country that the s the Nigerian economy slowly regains veloping outstanding real estate leaders. future belongs to those who dare to co-create it. its breath; credit to the various econom- In advancing this vision- the first Real Estate Out- This is our underlying philosophy in building the ic resuscitation efforts through a stinging look event was held on February 6 at the Lagos future of Real Estate in Nigeria; through creating Arecession and expected or unexpected economic Business School and in conjunction with Busi- learning & leadership platforms which is part of downturn- Fine & Country remained focused on nessDay; hosting about 100 industry stakeholders, our focus in 2018 as we approach our 10th year presenting Nigeria as a beacon of opportunity ver- leaders& experts who provided high level insights, Anniversary in the region. sus the ailing reality that was presented in the me- opportunities and projections for the real estate dia, economic journals & the general public. We industry in 2018. The interactive sessions provid- Udo Maryanne Okonjo remained visionary; we looked beyond the now & ed an opportunity for real estate stakeholders to LLM, Lond. Vice Chairman Fine and Country International W.A continue to focus on creating opportunities in an ask questions, share ideas & cross pollinate ideas Member of the Oxford Real Estate Society. otherwise bleak economic landscape. in preferring solutions to pertinent industry issues COMING SOON In Real Women Invest in Real Estate, you’ll learn how: • To climb the real estate ladder with ease and expertise. • Spot the right real estate opportunities and make money in any market at any time • Develop the entrepreneurial skills required to succeed in real estate investing. • Evaluate the right locations and types of real estate market to invest in. • Enjoy the Stiletto Edge and understand why women have an advantage in real estate investing. Call: 08096000045 to Pre-Order Urban and emerging markets: Where will the money go next? ments where demand is driven by young professionals, top company executives and consultants to blue chip companies. These apartments are generally located in good locations from where the occupants can easily connect other places in the city. The stability in the foreign exchange market and the easing of inflation rekindling interest in retail business once again. Nigeria had experienced what could pass easily as a revolution in the retail market. But with the economic recession came the naira devaluation which increased the rate of exchange of naira to the dollar; there was an increase in the price of the goods stocked which were mainly imported; there was the issue of in- flation which peaked at 19 percent; there was also ris- ing unemployment and falling salaries which together crimped individual and household disposable income. All these left the market struggling low footfalls, high vacancy rate, and reduced investment in mall devel- opment. Bolaji Edu, CEO, Broll Property Services, hinted in an interview recently that, with the recession over, activ- ities are gradually picking up, once again, with latent demand. “But this is no longer time for large malls of 20,000, 25,000 to 30,000 square metres. Investment hen an investment question is thrown at a added. One of the trends, she explained, was certainly consideration now should be for 5,000 to 8,000 square casual observer of activities in the Nigerian towards apartment style. She pointed out that market metre malls which will be designed in such a way that real estate market, given the challenges in intelligence was, increasingly, pointing towards good the size could be increased if things improve”, he said. Wthe domestic economy and the impact they have had value and convenience which does not mean the same on individual and corporate income, you are sure to get thing as low-quality housing. Prospective investors can find opportunities in this answers in terse statements such as ‘no more hope for sector in emerging areas with large concentration of investors’, ‘who is still talking about investing in real es- An important trend where investors’ money can go people such as Ikorodu, Badagry, Epe in Lagos or a tate?’, ‘where are the opportunities?’. next is millennial housing. This needs to be explored place like Mararaba in Abuja where they could build But these are to be expected from the uninformed, a further as millennials begin to come into the housing neighbourhood retail malls that should be conve- non-initiate and a total stranger who will always enter market with more functional requirements in terms of nience-focused. Edu is encouraging investors to make a big and complex structure from the back door, gets unit sizes and facilities. This market is important for the switch because, “though it has been quite challeng- confused and gets lost midway. residential developers with opportunities to target first ing, we have seen very strong take up. We have seen time homeowners and buy-to-let investors. new malls with up to 80-90 percent occupancy rate. Nigeria has gone through a major recession, one that But the rate of occupancy is all about getting your mar- actually brought the economy to its knees. The reces- Student housing is another emerging market that has keting right, ensuring that you have the right tenant sion actually hit the various sectors of the economy, es- something to offer yield-hungry investors. A widening mix, and ensuring that your rents are competitive pecially real estate, hard. But that recession did not and gap between a growing student population and little within the market and the location you are in”. could not have altered the strong fundamentals that or no student accommodation supply has thrown up make the country’s real estate market a compelling des- opportunity in this market which has capacity to of- Investment can also be made in good, strong and qual- tination for both domes- fer high yields and ity Grade B office buildings which focus on the local tic and foreign investors. stable cash-flow to market. Some investors are withholding investment in investors and de- this sector because there is perceived over-supply, but The country remains a velopers ready to Edu thinks differently. big market for investors make the switch. with its large and growing “I think we need to look at supply from two angles. population currently es- Out of Nigeria’s 180 First, you look at the fact that Nigeria is one of the top timated at 180 million; it million population three economies in Africa and one of the top two in is still one of the top three with a growth rate Sub-Saharan Africa. Lagos is the centre of economic economies in Africa and of 2.6 percent per activity in the country. If you look at the entire supply the top two in Sub-Saha- annum, 70 percent in terms of total square metres, you see that there isn’t ran Africa; the housing is below the age of an oversupply of both Grade A and B office buildings”, deficit in the country is 30.