Inside Landmark’s real estate ecosystem that grows economy, impacts lives

Landmark Africa Group is not just another real estate development company out there in Nigeria. The company, which operates across three locations in Africa—Nigeria, South Africa and Cape Town—is indeed an ecosystem, a destination that contributes to the growth of the country’s economy and impacts people’s lives.

The ecosystem is a beehive of activities taking place backstage as a sprawling enclave harbouring sand beaches, restaurants, short-let apartments, spaces for various sporting activities—football pitch, lawn and table tennis courts, and sundry business outlets.

Read also: Landmark Village: West Africa’s fastest growing business, leisure, lifestyle destination

With a special focus and interest in business, leisure and lifestyle, the company has a real estate portfolio of over 130,000 square metres comprising mixed-use office, leisure and residential space for multinational and domestic companies in Nigeria.

Landmark sits on 220,000 square metres and presents interesting numbers that readily show how it has impacted positively on both the people and economy of Nigeria in particular and Africa at large.

“We have attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) through our strategic partnerships; we have also fostered business investments and developed dedicated spaces for renowned companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Regus, P&G, Med Plus Pharmacy, Essenza, and more,” Paul Onwuanibe, the Group CEO, revealed.

In its 27 years of existence, Landmark has created 4,000 direct jobs within the ecosystem and 12,000 indirect employments with 75 percent of them between the ages of 18 and 35. Within the ecosystem too, there are over 18 businesses 44 percent of which are first-time business owners.

Landmark has recorded about four million footfalls or visitors to various businesses including entertainment places, restaurants, beaches, convention centres and the mixed-use Landmark Tower. Over 290 events are held annually here while it has hosted about 25 international events.

For the authorities of this company, the most significant impact the company has made in the economy of Nigeria is the over $ 250 million investment it has made in property and also the contribution of about N530 million to federal and state taxes annually.

Besides all these, opportunities also abound for business start-ups, buy-to-let investors and home seekers who can benefit from the company’s ongoing residential tower development that will rise 28 floors, making it the tallest residential building in Lagos. The development which is already on the 8th floor will offer one, two and three-bedroom apartments.

In various ways, the company has contributed to the development of the community in which it operates, citing giving employment to people in the community, beautifying the environment, providing street lights and, until recently, rehabilitating the access road to the company.

“We are doing so much and will continue to do so. We are a loyal corporate citizen so don’t default on all our obligations to the government, especially in our tax obligation where we pay so much. This is why we are asking for government support by enabling and sanitising the environment for businesses to grow and do more,” Onwuanibe said.

Continuing, he noted, “The challenges here are enormous; the business environment is not friendly; we thank the government for rehabilitating our main access road, but we still contend with the activities of touts among others.” He cited the ongoing land reclamation from the Atlantic Ocean for the development of Eko Atlantic City as another major threat.

Globally, tourism is evolving as a very strong economic growth driver which is why Onwuanibe said they were in an aggressive push to develop that sector in Nigeria. He pointed out that the sector does two key things for an economy, one of which is employment.

He explained that the tourism sector is the biggest employer of people in the world such that in some jurisdictions it employs one in 10 persons. “But we have looked at the numbers which tell the story and see that, among its peers, Nigeria is far behind in terms of income per capita.

The income per capita in Ghana is $20 per head; in Rwanda, it’s $22 per head while in Nigeria, it’s about $1.43 per head. It tells you that there is simply not enough being done in tourism which is why, indeed, we need public and private sector handshake to develop this sector,” he noted.

In doing this, the government doesn’t need to spend money on certain things; all it should do is spend money on infrastructure. They should not spend money on 90 percent of the things that they spend money on. “If you get your airports right; get your infrastructure in place, people will be able to move around and the private sector will do the rest,” he explained.

The sprawling beach resort in the Landmark ecosystem is a testament to the company’s contribution to the development of the sector and to complement this effort, Onwuanibe is urging the government to make the first impression with infrastructure.

According to him, tourists need that first impression and there’s hardly a second chance to make the first impression. “So, whether people come through the airports, bus stop, or come through the train station, make sure they’re nice; ensure that those people can get to the various parts of the city in a nice, safe, and beautiful way and then make sure that those businesses that create tourist platforms are supported,” he said.

“Those things don’t require money, they just require focus; if you can keep your house clean, then the government will keep the road in front of your house clean, it’s really as simple as that. Tourism is culture and ethos that countries have to develop,” he noted.