• Thursday, March 28, 2024
businessday logo

BusinessDay

Famfa Oil Tower elevates prime office space with strong value propositions

Famfa Oil Tower

For savvy real estate investors, especially the patient ones with long term view of the market , economic  recession or slowdown is a  mere cycle that should not affect, significantly, major investment decisions. Some believe that the best time to invest is when an economy is recessing.

Such decisions become a lot more compelling in a country like Nigeria where there is demand driven by its large market, strong demographics, a young population with buying power, and a sizeable clan of high networth individuals with strong desire for the new normal.

This explains why investment interest as well as confidence is still high in the real estate sector despite reported negative growth in the sector in the last 24 months it has been in recession.
In Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, Ikoyi and Victoria Island are the most active sub-markets for prime office space. Whereas Ozumba Mbadiwe Street  in VI is home to many institutional Grade A office space, Kingsway or Alfred Rewane Road is the new haven for office space developers in Ikoyi

This is where Famfa Oil Tower is sitting on land area measuring 5,695 square metres.  This is  a 20-floor tower being developed by Dayspring Property Development Company, a real estate investment and development subsidiary of Famfa Oil Limited, with Julius Berger as the main contractor.

The  sub-contractors on the building  project are ACCL as the architects, AA Associates Limited as  structural engineer, and Trevi Foundations Limited as the piling contractor.

Julius Berger, the German construction giant, has over three decades experience in construction and civil engineering. It has within this period garnered good reputation that has made it a first consideration for quality construction work. Its involvement in building Famfa Oil Tower speaks much about the quality of the final product that will be delivered.

Located strategically on the corner of Kingsway and Olawole Dawodu Roads in Ikoyi, the Tower will have its 3 floors dedicated to Famfa Oil. It will also offer leasable office space and a multipurpose hall, each with a dedicated well-appointed entrance at the ground floor.
The office complex promises top-notch amenities and features, including a gymnasium, helipad with a dedicated waiting lounge, 266 car park spaces, raised access floors and select granite finishes. The building’s façade will also comprise of extensive high performance unitized curtain walling with integrated façade lighting, ballistic performance considerations in select areas, and aluminum cladding.

Related News

The developers are considering a proposal  to have Rotary UPS systems in the building  as an alternative to generators such that in the event of power outage, there is no interruption of power supply thereby ensuring a seamless flow of electricity.

Dayspring Property which is chaired by Folorunsho Alakija, has other iconic properties in its portfolio. These are the Rose of Sharon Tower in Victoria Island and Project Delta in Ikoyi.
Alakija, one of the world’s richest women, is a big player in the property and real estate sector in Nigeria. Having hit it big in the oil sector, she has invested a lot of her wealth in real estate in Nigeria and London. She also has investments in the Middle East.

Famfa Oil Tower has come to join in the scramble for the hot Ikoyi skyline where the likes of  Heritage Place (15,631 square metres),  Alliance Place (6,670 square metres), Kingsway Tower  (12,000 square metres), Temple Tower  (14,000 square metres), BAT’s Rising Sun (10,000  square metres), and Lake Point Towers (13,400  square metres), have already taken position.
Before now, Ikoyi was known as a residential enclave, but changing business dynamics have altered all that. “There is nothing strange or particularly wonderful about what is happening in Ikoyi; what that simply tells you is that Kingsway is today the most desirable, most sought after office space address in Lagos”, Obi Nwogugu, Head, Real Estate at African Capital Alliance, explained to BusinessDay.  “We have seen some interesting developments on Ozumba Mbadiwe Street in Victoria Island, but Kingsway is the preferred destination”, he added.

Expectedly, with the clustering of prime office buildings in these axis, competition is sure to set in and Nwogugu confirmed, saying, “yes, we have seen some competition in the market and that has, increasingly, brought some efficiency into construction; build quality is the in-thing now and a lot is being done to ensure product differentiation.” . He added that more money was being put back into the buyer’s pocket even as he enjoys enhanced asset quality and value.
The market is no longer what it used to be as average asking rents for these developments are now on the downward trend in Ikoyi, averaging US$600 – US$850 per square metre per annum, which is about percent lower than what it was a couple years ago. Achievable rents are 8 percent to 15 percent below asking rents.

Average asking rents in Victoria Island follows Ikoyi trend, easing by 6 percent to US$780 per square metre per annum. Achievable rents are 10 percent to 20 percent below asking rents. This situation may not persist as it is expected that more office space will coming to the market in the course of the year.

 

CHUKA UROKO