Investors undeterred by falling oil prices as Cluttons launches in Nigeria
Despite the oil price fall in the international market and the devaluation of the local currency both of which have created upsets in the macro-economic environment in Nigeria, interest and confidence in this economy remains as new investors continue to come to set up businesses here.
One of the latest arrivals is Cluttons—an international real estate services company that has existed in the UK for 250 years and operates in over 50 countries of the world which says it is coming after three years of careful study and analysis of the emerging markets in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Cluttons is in Nigeria to offer international real estate services and will be operating as a joint venture with Alpha Mead Facilities Management and Services Limited (AMFacilities)—Nigeria’s touch-bearer in the facilities management industry.
“This is a very important day for us. The announcement of co-operation and launch of Cluttons into Nigeria is a major step we have been considering for three years now. We have spent this period looking at sub-Saharan Africa and the various options we have”, Ian Gladwin, Cluttons’ Head of International, said at the launch of the Cluttons-AMFacilities Joint Venture in Lagos recently.
With benefits of hindsight, Gladwin submitted that in any emerging market, there are bound to be risks, noting that the fall in oil price has created confusion, “but it is a positive thing too because this a great opportunity to focus on real estate space which accommodates diversifications”.
“We are here to invest long term, not short term. We have been in the Middle East since the past 40 years and we developed with every city in that region including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ryad and others. So, we understand the process of emerging markets and we are going to work with people here to create value and honest commitment through this development process”, he assured.
Cluttons Nigeria will provide a range of commercial and residential real estate services including commercial agency valuations and management, commercial and retail management, and strategic consultancy through its corporate services team.
According to Gladwin, the rapid growth in Nigeria’s real estate environment is as a result of increased urbanisation, improving economic conditions and Nigeria’s emergence on the global stage, adding that Lagos is the gateway to West Africa and having a strong presence here is an important step in strengthening their established global platform.
Femi Akintunde, CEO of AMFacilities, explained that the decision of both companies to partner to raise the standard of property management in Nigeria was borne out of the dire need to deliver best practice to the Nigerian market, stressing that his company decided to partner with Cluttons to bring quality of real estate service that the Nigerian business space had been yearning for.
Cluttons Nigeria office will be headed by Erejuwa Gbadebo, who joins Cluttons having worked with the Broll property group where she was CEO. Gbadebo is a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), with 28 years of post qualification experience in both Nigeria and the UK.
Working alongside Gbadebo, as chief operating officer, will be corporate real estate specialist, Lesley Orr, who has previously worked at CBRE and Standard Chartered Bank in the Middle East, North America and Africa.
CHUKA UROKO