This archive report was first published on 17 June 2020.
June 17, 2020 - Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed Centum Investment Group has refuted claims that it has exited the property market. The company will instead take a break from new commercial development and focus on its existing projects, including the largest shopping mall in the region, Two Rivers Mall.
Centum Real Estate Managing Director Simon Kariuki said the company has not recorded any losses on its property business. He noted that the entire property market has been going through turbulent times, with rental prices either declining or stagnating after an extended period of growth.
According to Kariuki, Centum has 1,442 housing units under construction, with 999 already pre-sold, representing a pre-sale level of 70 per cent. The units have a revenue potential of Sh7.8 billion. The company has a total approved programme of 4,327 housing units, as explicitly set out during the investor briefing on June 12, 2020.
Over 426 of the units under construction are projected to be complete and handed over to their owners in the financial year ending March 31, 2021. Customers have already paid over Sh2 billion cash deposits for the houses, with the projects being debt-free and self-financed.
Centum will not develop new commercial rental property in the next five years, focusing largely on affordable residential projects. The company will, however, manage the Two Rivers Mall, which has a mall leasing level of 81 per cent compared to 71 per cent at the end of March 2019.
