Actis, the pan-emerging markets private equity firm Wednesday confirmed
the sale of its 85% shareholding in Accra Mall to South African
commercial and retail property
developer, Atterbury, and financial
services group, Sanlam.
Accra Mall is Ghana’s first A-grade shopping and leisure centre, home to
international brands such as Shoprite and Game, as well as Ghanaian
brands including Kiki Clothing and Nallem.
This strategic trade sale demonstrates an increasing interest in Ghana
by foreign investors and also reflects the acute demand for high quality
real estate assets in sub-Saharan Africa.
Actis managed the development process, invested the equity and raised
the debt to finance the project, working in partnership with renowned
Ghanaian entrepreneurs, the Owusu-Akyaw family. The mall opened its
doors in July 2008 fully let, and today attracts 135,000 shoppers each
week.
David Morley, Head of Real Estate at Actis said: “This sale reflects the
serious interest of quality institutional investors in sub-Saharan real
estate assets. The development of Accra Mall came at a time when
Ghanaians still sourced even basic goods from London and Johannesburg.
Now they can buy products locally with pride. We are extremely pleased
with what we have achieved here, in partnership with the Owusu-Akyaw
family. Accra Mall’s success gives us great optimism for our upcoming
projects in Accra, both our mixed use development in the Airport area,
and One Airport Square.”
Alex Bruks of the Owusu-Akyaw family said: “My brother, the late Joseph
Owusu-Akyaw, shared a vision with Actis: to create a focal point where
Ghanaians could come to socialise, shop and relax, and to bring a new
standard of retail to Ghana. It has been a rewarding journey and this
mall stands as testament to our joint ambition and hard work. We are
excited about this next chapter in the mall’s history.”
Actis is sub-Saharan Africa’s most experienced private equity real
estate investor. Since 2004, Actis has developed ten institutional
quality assets in seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa including other
A-grade retail malls: Ikeja City Mall and The Palms in Lagos, and The
Junction in Nairobi. Actis intends to initiate and develop real estate
projects worth half a billion US dollars in sub-Saharan Africa over the
next three years.
About Actis
Actis invests exclusively in the emerging markets with a growing
portfolio of investments in Asia, Africa and Latin America; it currently
has US$5bn funds under management. Combining the expertise of over 100
investment professionals in nine countries, Actis identifies investment
opportunities in three areas: private equity, energy and real estate.
Actis has close to US$1.5 billion invested in 18 African countries and
32 investment professionals working in Africa, with offices in Cairo,
Johannesburg, Lagos, London and Nairobi.
Actis is proud to actively and positively grow the value of those
companies in which it invests and in so doing contribute to broader
society.
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