Lagos iconic N20billion Kanti Towers up for grabs

WITH eye on reaping the benefits of real estate market in Nigerian commercial capital, Lagos, promoters of the iconic structure in Adetokunbo Ademola Street have engaged estate surveying and valuation firms to sell its famous Kanti Towers in Lagos.

The city landmark boasts 6,500 square metres of premium office area with five floors of multi-level parking bays for over 100 cars and developed under a joint venture between Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC) and Senkay Nigeria Limited.

It was recently reportedly that the historically low supply and opportunity to demonstrate what real prime grade quality office space is like has created interest from global and domestic institutional real estate investors in recent years.

Actis, an emerging market private equity firm, launched the first sub-Saharan Africa private real estate fund at $154 million and have a handful of real estate interests in Lagos and Abuja. The most relevant is a 15,600 sq. meters office development that is slated for completion before year-end.

Specifically, Kanti Towers, a known fixture on the Victoria Island skyline, is being put on the market by the firms of Jide Taiwo and Company and Joe Akhigbe and Associates. The project undertaken as a public private partnership has been completed and Messrs Senkay Nigeria Limited has tapped commercial real estate services firms to find a buyer for the building.

Initially, the building was on a rental model, but the promoters changed the model after the construction works and have decided to put a price tag of N20 billion ($100 million) on the edifice. Sources hinted that the 15 storey office complex with two basement floors, five floors of parking and 10 floors of office space was estimated to cost about N4.8 billion on completion.

The Guardian learnt that the current valuation and economic realities have made the price of the property to escalate. The N20 billion asking price has not deterred investors as the estate agents revealed that the high-rise have recorded a handful of inquires from foreign and local institutions including corporate bigwigs who are seeking a review of the price downwards.

Cappa and D’alberto Plc were appointed as contractor after a competitive bidding process to handle the construction of the carcass and supervise the installation of services and finishes. The contractor moved to site in September 2010 and expected to finish within 30 months, but was completed recently. Trevi Foundations handled the pilling, which commenced in January 2010 and was completed six months later.

AZDEC A.S.C designed the magnificent structure; Kanti Towers comes with a spectacular view of the city and the majestic Atlantic Ocean, and according to the developers has set a new environmental and social standard in facilitating corporate Nigeria.

Key features of the building include a helipad that allows traffic-free official shuttles to and from the airport. A facade garnished with Aluminum composite (aluco-bond) cladding, curtain walling system primarily made out of low e-glass, all introduced to create a touch of elegance and finally culminating with a descriptive cone and circular Helipad.

Officials from Jide Taiwo described the property as “an iconic building designed to offer market leading blend of highest technical specification, convenience and security, which provide first class business atmosphere that enhances operational capacities and corporate profile of the occupant.”

The attraction of Kanti Towers to investors is the location in Nigeria’s most dynamic business hub, within reach of top hotels and the head offices of key multinationals. With 15 floors of prestige office space, which is powered by three state of the art generating sets for seamless switch between power cuts.

Essentially, the building was finished with ramped split-level parking floors, aluminium clad external wall finish, glass walled lobby with glass encased staircase, glazed Italian porcelain floor tile finish, granite slab entrance step, metallic ceiling and automatic sliding entrance door.

Facilities include four lifts, three 750 KVA diesel generator sets and one 375 KVA with UPS back up, air conditioning system, dedicated borehole, water treatment plant, water storage tanks with 45,000 litres capacity for underground and 26,000 litres capacity for overhead, CCTV and access control, fire sprinkler system with fire alarms (dry and wet), sewage plant and pressurized staircase for fire safety.

Funding for the project was through fundraising with the promoter providing all the equity while a local bank provided the construction finance of about N3 billion. Mis Advisory was appointed as Financial Advisor and arranged the funding. Other consultants include Almog Engineering Limited (Mechanical and Electrical Contractor) and Skein Nigeria Limited (Metallic Ceiling Contractor).