Africa’s largest mezzanine fund manager acquires Kenya’s Rosslyn Riviera Shopping Mall for USD8m

Africa’s largest mezzanine fund manager has acquired Kenya’s Rosslyn Riviera Shopping Mall.

South African-based Vantage Capital, Africa’s largest mezzanine fund manager, has acquired an undisclosed stake in the Rosslyn Riviera Shopping Mall for USD 8.0 mn (Sh800m), Cytonn reported.

Peter Gethi, Director and CEO of Thaara Ltd, the developer of Rosslyn Riviera confirmed the news and said they were delighted.

“We are indeed glad for the confidence Vantage Capital has placed in this project and certainly welcome their partnership with us. We are looking forward to the exciting journey ahead.”

Nairobi is currently the leading city outside South Africa in terms of mall space, with 761,805 SQM of available retail space, explaining why Vantage Capital decied to acquire the convenient neighbourhood shopping mall.

"Kenya has always been of strategic importance for Vantage, and therefore we are pleased with our 1 transaction in the country and to be investing in a premium asset such as Rosslyn Riviera. Peter Gethi and his entire team have done an exceptional job developing the mall and we are extremely confident in their ability to further the future success of the project.” Said Warren van der Merwe, Chief Operating Officer of Vantage Capital.

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The location of the shopping mall is perhaps the cherry on top with the yield on investment in retail space along Kiambu and Limuru Roads, where Rosslyn Riviera sits currently standing at 10.6% against an average yield of 9.6% for malls located in Nairobi Metropolitan Area.

Occupancy rates at Rosslyn Riviera, which was officially opened for trading in 2017, also stand at 96.3% compared to an average occupancy of 80.3%, an indication of the viability of the investment in Rosslyn Riviera Mall by Vantage.

“Rosslyn Riviera is a state of the art shopping mall, developed to extremely high standards, with all the right characteristics we consider befitting the only modern neighbourhood mall in Kenya. It is located in a prime affluent area in the city of Nairobi. Direct access to a major highway provides the tenants with excellent visibility including abundant conveniently accessible parking for their customers. The mall has managed to attract high quality tenants such as Chandarana Supermarkets, Java House, News Café and Nairobi Hospital and is led by a very competent management team. This investment in a leading retail property development in the heart of Nairobi demonstrates Vantage Capital’s commitment to Kenya and the East African region as a whole.” Mokgome Mogoba, Associate Partner at Vantage Capital, said.

The investment is Vantage Capital’s 7th transaction in Mezz Fund III, a USD 280.0 mn (Sh28bn) fund, with a 55.0% allocation to countries outside South Africa for investment in real estate projects.

The firm recently invested USD 12.5 mn in Nigerian-based Purple Capital, which is the developer of 6,000 SQM Maryland Mall in Nigeria. The investment in Rossyln Riviera represents the 25th transaction executed by Vantage across three generations of mezzanine funds. Vantage manages funds in excess of USD 500.0 mn (Kshs 50.0 bn) invested in projects across Africa.