Investor-confidence growing as Purple Capital unveils $20m Maryland Mall
Clearly, the real estate sector of the Nigerian economy has received a fair share of the confidence and interest investors have in the economy and in no other segment of this sub-sector have investors demonstrated this confidence than the retail market in which over N200 billion has been invested in the past couple of years.
Purple Capital Partners Limited is one of the local firms demonstrating this confidence in the economy having made significant investment in the residential and hospitality segments of the real estate market including the The Art Hotel, Redworth Terraces, The Berkshire 8 and Knightsbridge, all in the up-market neighbourhoods of Lagos.
Purple Capital, a specialist investment firm with business areas in principal investment, private equity and real estate with strong passion to offer a range of alternative investment opportunities for itself, institutional and private investors, also invests in opportunities that allows for value creation and national growth.
The company has therefore, keyed into the growing opportunities the fast-growing retail market with $20 million investment in Maryland Shopping Mall located along the ever busy Ikorodu Road, Lagos.
“The Nigerian economy has great potential; the opportunities are there but you have to have the right products and be able to deliver the right value to your shareholders”, Obinna Onunkwo, one of Purple Capital’s managing partners, said in his opening remarks at the unveiling of the mall recently.
The choice of Lagos for the mall, Onunkwo said, was both strategic and economic, explaining that Lagos as Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre control’s about 12 percent of country’s GDP and so the buying power is located here.
According to him, “within the 8 kilometre radius of where we are building this mall, the average per capita spending power is about $18,000 per annum. That tells you that average household spending on shopping in this area is about $1, 500 monthly. From this we can see the market is huge and growing”.
Laide Agboola, also a managing partner, had earlier at a press conference in Lagos, assured that they were not daunted by the falling oil prices and the likely negative impact on real estate assets, pointing out that oil accounted for only 12 percent of Nigeria’s GDP now valued at $510 billion.
Maryland Mall, Agboola said, is joint venture project between Purple Capital and Network Hotel Limited and is rising from the ashes of former Maryland Business Plaza with Mende, Ikeja, Opebi, Oshodi etc as catchment areas.
The mall which sits on 10,000 square metres gross buildable area and 7,000 square metres gross lettable area promises world class retail experience with the South African retail giant—Shoprite, Stanbic IBTC Bank, and Genesis Deluxe Cinemas as anchor tenants.
Agboola disclosed that in order to deliver both value and quality which the mall is intended to offer, they have assembled the best of professionals and service providers including Aecon Professional Services as project managers; CMDesignAtelier Limited, Architects, Holdsco EPS Nigeria Ltd (JHI), facility managers, Gbenga Olaniyan & Co and Rogba Orimalade & Co, leasing team, Horacio, contractor to deliver the final product.
With the largest LED screen measuring about 550 square metres which gives it a spectacular feature, Maryland Mall parades other facilities that include a basement and surface parking that will take 219 vehicles, food court, adequate public convenience, 24-hour security with CCTV etc.
At $1,200 per square metre, the mall promises the lowest rate in the market which, perhaps, explains why at foundation level, the mall which will stand on three floors including the ground floor is already 70 percent let.
CHUKA UROKO