Broll Property Group on Friday reported that its African expansion had gained momentum, with the group now active in 15 countries on the continent.
The South Africa-headquartered group, which had offices in Ghana, Malawi, Namibia and Nigeria, had opened offices in Mauritius and Rwanda this year, and planned to open another in Kenya by year-end.
The new office, opening in August, would be based in Nairobi. The group would search for a joint venture (JV) partner once the new firm was established.
“There’s been a positive shift in investors’ attitudes to the fortunes of the African continent. More and more multinational companies are tapping into sub-Saharan Africa’s fast-growing consumer markets and Broll is positioning itself as a service provider of choice operating across [the region],” commented Broll CEO Malcolm Horne.
Broll, in a JV with the Rwanda Social Security Board, opened its Rwanda office in Kigali in April. The newly established office managed a portfolio of properties valued at about $50-million.
This followed the March opening of the group’s Indian Ocean unit, based in Mauritius and covering the territories of Seychelles, Madagascar and Reunion Island.
The Indian Ocean office was a JV with local property valuations, advisory and broking firm Tinkler & Ramlackhan.
Broll was considering opening an office in Madagascar.
About R12-billion of Broll’s R60-billion assets and 200 of its 1 182 employees, were now outside of South Africa.
“The growth story of sub-Saharan Africa is a compelling one. Advancing infrastructure development, impressive demographics, the telecommunications revolution, improving political stability, sound macroeconomic policies and deregulating industries across the continent are all driving greater investment in Africa,” Broll Africa director Leonard Michau added.