Greenspan shopping mall in Nairobi’s Eastlands, Stanlib's latest Sh2 billion acquisition. PHOTO | FILE
By John Gachiri, jgachiri@ke.nationmedia.com
In Summary
- South African investment firm Stanlib is increasing its investment in Kenya’s property sector with the planned construction of a Sh1.2 billion shopping mall in Athi River town.
- The development will come up on the Nairobi-Namanga road, off Mombasa Road, about 30 kilometres from the city centre.
- The proposed shopping mall will be the first disclosed Kenyan investment from the $150 million (Sh15 billion) fund that Stanlib raised in mid-2013.
South African investment firm Stanlib is increasing
its investment in Kenya’s property sector with the planned construction
of a Sh1.2 billion shopping mall in Athi River town, which is just
outside Nairobi.
Stanlib, through its Africa Direct Property Development
Fund, is set to construct a mixed development that will have the
shopping mall and offices in the satellite town.
The development will come up on the Nairobi-Namanga road, off Mombasa Road, about 30 kilometres from the city centre.
“The proposed mixed use development of Athi River
Mall will comprise retail and commercial buildings consisting of anchor,
fashion, financial, food/restaurants, furniture, electronics, health
and beauty, line shops, children entertainment, modern offices and other
services. The mall will consist of a basement, ground floor, first
floor and a roof top,” says the project’s Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) report.
“The retail section will have 127 units covering a
total area of 20,797.95 square metres that will be constructed in two
phases. Phase one will involve the construction of 83 retail units, with
an area of 12,973.42 square metres while phase two will involve the
construction of 44 retail units, with an area of 7824.53 square metres,”
adds the EIA report.
The proposed shopping mall will be the first
disclosed Kenyan investment from the $150 million (Sh15 billion) fund
that Stanlib raised in mid-2013.
At the time Stanlib said that it would develop two shopping malls, one in Nairobi and another in a satellite town.
The EIA report did not indicate when construction
would begin but typically such developments take at least 24 months.
Stanlib, the asset management arm of South Africa’s Liberty Group, has
also invested in Kenya’s first real estate investment trust (Reit).
Stanlib’s Fahari Income-Reit managed to raise Sh3.6
billion through an initial public offer (IPO) and has since bought
Greenspan Mall in Embakasi, Nairobi County for Sh2 billion.
Devolution process
Buffalo Mall in Naivasha, Nakuru County is another
retail property that has been partly acquired by South Africa’s Pivotal
Fund which bought a 50-per cent stake for Sh450 million. Increased
spending power, devolution coupled with rapid urbanisation are factors
that are driving mall development.
“While much of Kenya’s formal retail capacity is
concentrated in central Nairobi and the port city of Mombasa, there has
been growing development of formal space in cities such as Kisumu and
Eldoret in recent years, with potential for even wider diversification
in the future.
“This is being driven in large part by the
devolution process, which has led to higher incomes in counties outside
the capital, and consequently to a significant increase in investor
interest in developing retail centres in these areas,” said a report by
Oxford Business Group
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