Centum Real Estate Limited has signed an agreement with GEM (Global Emerging Markets) for a 36-month, Sh17 billion share subscription facility following a public listing.
The facility will allow the firm to draw funds by issuing shares of common stock to GEM. It will control the timing and the maximum the size of such drawdowns (a continuous decline in an investment or fund, usually expressed as a percentage between its highest and lowest levels) and has no minimum drawdown obligation.
“This commitment by GEM to invest in Centum Real Estate is in line with Centum’s mission to build extraordinary African enterprises and to provide a channel through which investors can access them,” said managing director James Mworia said.
He said that the commitment by GEM provides an independent market validation of the attractiveness of the Centum Real Estate business, demonstrating depth of investor interest which helps in strengthening market confidence in Centum Real Estate's business.
GEM validates the attractiveness of the market opportunity that Centum is pursuing in providing housing across Sub-Sahara Africa where there is a very significant unmet demand.
Centum is currently developing over 1,400 homes many of which have already been completed. Another, over 3,000 homes are in the pipeline to be developed in the near term.
Additionally, Centum holds bulk development rights across its land banks for its future housing development and for sale to other real estate developers.
