Firm boosts access to shelter with $1m bond

To deepen the culture of monthly rental, Alpha Mead group has raised a fixed-rate series one $1m private placement bond.

The Senior Secured Private bond is part of expansion strategies to increase access to shelter and perpetuate the culture of monthly rent payment in the continent’s housing and office markets.

The initiative, also called ‘Rent4Less’, is designed to support individuals and small businesses with flexible, monthly pay-as-you-use rent for homes and offices.

The Managing Director of Alpha Mead Development Company (AMDC), Damola Akindolire said the fund is coming as a result of outstanding early growth of the product and trust that the investment community reposed in it.

He said, “One of those insights is the fact that the pandemic reduced the pocket size of most people, businesses and everyone has to re-prioritise. If we can take the stress of the lump-sum yearly payment away from people and businesses at a time like this, we would have solved a major problem.”

“Over 80 per cent of our growing population lives in rental accommodation and we are happy that we have not just solved a major problem with Rent4Less, we have even proved within a very short time that we can accelerate growth and replicate this success across Africa.”

Akindolire noted that with a deep interest in real estate development, AMDC is also conscious that the product would be beneficial to landlords and real estate investors.

The head, marketing, and corporate communications, Mr. Olusesan Ogunyooye said comfortable homes or offices should not be the exclusive preserve of those who have huge funds to either buy or pay a yearly rent.

He said: “The fund will help close the gap between the scarcity and plenty. It will help us bring more buildings to the market in Nigeria. If people earn monthly wages and attend to their other basic needs such as clothing and food periodically; why should they pay rent yearly?”

Also speaking, the business manager, Rent4Less, Nelson Nlemuzor stressed that “Real estate is a location-driven investment asset class, and that makes it difficult for an average income earner to stay in prime locations close to Central Business Districts (CBDs), primarily because of the rent structure in these locations.

Nlemuzor said: “The scheme will address this with its shared living or working system that allows people of like minds to share the same living or working space and pay for just what they use monthly.’’