Actis leads consortium to build 14-floor Heritage Place

Actis, with its positive power of capital, is leading Primrose Development Company (PDC) and Laurus Development Partners in the development of what promises to be an iconic first green office building in Nigeria.

The office complex, to be known as Heritage Place, is a 14-floor building that will further enhance the Ikoyi real estate skyline where it will be located at the Lugard Avenue and Kingsway Road crossroads.

“This ultra-modern, eco-friendly building is Nigeria’s most advanced development, employing the latest building principles and state-of-the-art finishes; Heritage Place is set to become one of Lagos’s most recognisable and accessible buildings,” said Ngozi Edozien, Actis CEO, at the pre-launch presentation of the project to industry stakeholders in Lagos.

According to her, the consortium is a world-class project team with Actis as the developer/investor while Primerose and Laurus are the development managers.

To her, Actis invests exclusively in the emerging markets, adding that with a growing portfolio of investments in Asia, Africa and Latin America, the company currently has $5.2 billion funds under management.

“Africa lies at the core of the firm’s investment strategy with more than $1.7 billion invested across 18 countries on the continent. Actis launched the first sub-Saharan African private equity real estate fund in 2006, with a follow up on $275 million fund closed in 2012. Actis is the most experienced private equity real estate investor in sub-Saharan Africa,” she said.

Jide Balogun, Primrose CEO, said idea of Heritage Place was born out of an identified significant gap in quality office space in Lagos, disclosing that the choice of Actis as development partner was Actis investment discipline and global approach within the local context.

“As Nigeria’s first green building, the cost implications are huge but we believe that the long-term benefits are there and that will make Heritage Place distinguish itself in the marketplace; we also believe that on completion, the complex will be a reference point in office space in Nigeria,” he said.

Carlo Matta, Laurus CEO, agreed, pointing out that apart from its positive impact on tenants’ bottomline, “the building also has the advantage in reducing operating cost by guaranteeing 20 percent less energy cost.”

Comprising 15,600 square metre lettable office space over eight floors, the building has a large floor plates that offer great flexibility and efficiency to modern occupier and, according to the Actis CEO, the floor plates are fitted to internationally recognised ‘grade A’ standards, available from 450 square metre to 2,000 square metres.

“The iconic design, prestigious address and bar-raising specification set a new standard for Nigeria’s architectural landscape,” she said, adding, “Heritage Place is synonymous with modern, smart and environmentally-aware business.”

The building’s 14 floors has eight-floor rentable office, five-floor on-site parking; flexible office space from 450 square metres. The building is LEED-certified; it has raised floors and suspended ceilings; high space efficiency; Reception area; meeting rooms; Café/coffee shop; plaza; large floor plate-up to 2,000 square metres; floor plan divisible into four tenancies; six passenger lifts and one goods lift.

“As the first commercial building to achieve LEED certification in both design and construction, Heritage Place applies cutting technology to fulfil not just today’s environmental expectations, but tomorrow’s too,” Edozien assured.

STORIES BY CHUKA UROKO