Templetons Realty’s new market focus pioneers tenants’ representation service
Concerned by lack of a comprehensive tenant representation in most transactions in Nigeria’s vibrant property market, Templetons Realty, a new but innovative real estate firm, is out to fill the vacuum with its wide range of service offerings.
The company which came into existence not-too-long ago proposes a one-stop solution for all commercial and residential real estate needs including a ‘Build-t-Suit’ service for corporate clients in the commercial segment of the market.
“Tenant Representation as our flagship service in the commercial segment of the property market empowers us with the responsibility of helping clients (new entrants) to find properties that suit their needs, negotiate favourable lease terms on their behalf and generally hold their hand as they seek to navigate the complexities of the market,” Jide Akinsemoyin, the company’s managing director, explained to BusinessDay in an exclusive interview.
The service which consists of other sub services such as Lease Acquisitions and Renewals, Lease Restructuring, Build-to-Suit transactions, Transaction Management, Portfolio Management and Lease Audits, comes at no additional cost to the normal fees a tenant pays for a property transaction.
“These services focus on saving tenants’ resources, devise real estate strategies for their portfolios, help clients to understand their business and real estate objectives and protect tenants’ interests by ensuring that landlords abide by contracts and do not over-charge them for expenses,” Akinsemoyin assured.
“Our lease acquisition and renewal service, for instance, focuses on saving tenants’ money, particularly when it comes to lease renewal time. We have the skills and market knowledge to negotiate the best terms for our clients and we have been able to save for tenants as much as 25 percent off landlord’s original asking price through this service,” the managing director said.
According to Akinsemoyin, his firm’s value proposition to clients remains strong and compares with global best practice. “We apply our deep market knowledge, expertise and experience as unrivalled market leaders in this field to sourcing and negotiating the best lease terms for clients on their real estate requirements.”
“To achieve this, we adopt a conflict-free business model whereby prospective tenants can be rest assured that they will be presented with options that are in their interest, not options in which we may have an interest, direct or otherwise”, he said.
On his thought on trends in the commercial real estate space, Akinsemoyin acknowledged that the market has significantly changed in the past decade, explaining that the influx of international brands into the country coupled with the growth of local businesses has led to a corresponding increase in the demand and supply of commercial space available in the market.
“Specifically, supply has increased in the grade A market segment, and this has informed developers and property owners’ decision to introduce greater flexibility into their lease terms by offering shorter contracts and serviced spaces”, he said, adding that this was a trend looking to continue in the market as landlords increased their diversity of property solutions in order to attract more tenants.
ODINAKA MBONU