Mauritius-based property firm Grit Real Estate Income Group acquired an additional 50.0 per cent ownership stake in Buffalo Mall in Naivasha.
The deal, valued at Kshs 262.8 million, gave Grit full ownership of the retail facility. The move follows Grit’s laid-out capital commitment to acquire the remaining ownership stake of the mall, which it disclosed in its H1’2022 financial report.
At the close of 2022, Grit held a 50.0 per cent stake, valued at Kshs 762.1 million, which it acquired in April 2016. However, this was a decline from the stake’s acquisition price of Kshs 827.8 million in 2016.
The decline was attributed to the following:
- Tough operating conditions for retail space owners in the country, occasioned by increased competition from similar facilities.
- Curtailed demand for physical retail space on the back of the covid-19 pandemic, which reduced consumer spending power.
- The fast-paced growth of e-commerce instigated by social distancing measures in light of the onset of the pandemic.
Other assets held by Grit in Kenya include; Imperial Warehouse, Orbit Africa Warehouse, Rosslyn Grove and Eneo at Tatu City.
The acquisition, coupled with Grit’s decision to establish a fully-fledged Kenyan office to serve its growing portfolio of assets, is indicative of Kenya’s growing importance to Grit’s local market, accounting for 11.1 per cent of its value of income-producing assets in Africa, valued at Kshs 12.1 bn (USD 92.5 million).
Source: Cytonn Investment.
