Nigeria’s Abuja, one of the fastest growing cities in Africa, has seen the opening of a first of its kind world class shopping mall in the city.
On 21 June 2012 the 10 000 square metre Grand Towers Abuja Mall (GTAM) funded by the Novare Africa Property Fund 1, with 8 300 square metres of lettable space, opened its doors in the Dutse District of Abuja.
On 21 June 2012 the 10 000 square metre Grand Towers Abuja Mall (GTAM) funded by the Novare Africa Property Fund 1, with 8 300 square metres of lettable space, opened its doors in the Dutse District of Abuja.
The mall features 42 shops covering a retail mix of food, fashion, speciality, electronics, sports equipment, furniture, home improvement, entertainment and banks with over 350 parking bays.
The mall was officially opened at a ribbon-cutting ceremony performed by South African High Commissioner to Nigeria, Kingsley Mamabolo.
Novare Equity Partners, an African private equity manager based in South Africa, is the sub-adviser to the Novare Africa Fund 1, which was listed on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius in 2010 with a mandate to invest in commercial property development in Sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa.
Cell 1 of the fund has a commitment of $81 million and Cell 2 was opened in May 2012 for fund raising.
It has a number of developments at the acquisition phase and the construction of two more malls in Nigeria is on track for this year.
GTAM is anchored by Shoprite, the South African retail giant and the biggest retailing group in Africa. Shoprite has been joined by a diverse range of Nigerian retailers as well as international brands Adidas and Kentucky Fried Chicken, South African restaurant chain Spur, banks, pharmacies and mobile phone companies such as MTN.
Work started on the mall in January 2011 and the project has been completed on budget, according to Deon Bruwer, Head of African Property for Novare Equity Partners.
Of those involved in the project, many of the technical people were brought over from South Africa to supervise certain aspects, bringing the collective experience of over 300 shopping mall developments on the African continent to the project.
They teamed up with Nigerian consulting companies with knowledge of local conditions.
Abuja, developed as the capital city of Nigeria in the 1980s to alleviate congestion in the commercial capital Lagos, and to symbolise geographical and political neutrality, is one of the fastest growing cities in Africa.
New urban areas are springing up on the edges of the city limits as the population increases and a growing business sector supports the large numbers of public servants residing in the city.
Stanley Duru, chief executive officer of Grand Towers Realty Ltd, says it is estimated that in the past few years the city has swelled by at least half a million people.
A major benefit for the mall development is that Abuja is inhabited mostly by middle and upper income earners.
The city has a relatively large and rapidly growing middle class of salaried government workers, diplomats and others with regular incomes that are, on average, higher than elsewhere.
It is also the conference hub for Nigeria, with many international visitors in the city’s top hotels and venues.
Basson says they aim to open over 600 stores in Nigeria, given the potential he sees in the market.
Shoprite’s chief executive officer, Whitey Basson, has stated his positive stance on expansion into Nigeria numerous times.
Shoprite has three stores in Lagos and one in Enugu in addition to the Abuja supermarket.
Basson says they aim to open over 600 stores in Nigeria, given the potential he sees in the market.
“We were extremely happy with the response to our opening in Grand Towers,” says Gerhard Fritz, retail director of Africa Shoprite.
He says the people of Abuja are definitely looking for a place where they can do their shopping under one roof and they will continue to offer everyday lower prices to consumers while maintaining the standard set for the opening of the store that is managed and staffed by Nigerians.
“We look forward to future developments in the city as we believe there are many more areas that can accommodate world class shopping malls like Grand Towers,” he says.
Derrick Roper, chief executive officer of Novare Equity Partners, says they are proud to be associated with this development, which will make a big difference in the day-to-day lives of shoppers in Abuja.
"The Novare Africa Fund’s first phase of investments is in West Africa, leveraging off the African expansion strategies of key South African and international companies.”
He says the fund aims for US dollar returns of 25 percent a year and look forward to The Grand Towers Abuja Mall contributing to the achievement of that objective.
Novare Equity Partners has signed a Memorandum of Understanding on five other mall developments in Sub-Saharan Africa. Building on these should commence at the end of 2012.
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