Cytonn Investment Group has continued to defy odds in the face of tough macro-economic conditions bolstered by a prolonged electioneering period this year.
“The best time to grow is when things are difficult and people are distracted,” Cytonn Investments chief executive Edwin Dande told the Star. “Things are difficult because the economy has slowed down, there is very little access to credit given the interest rate cap and people are distracted because of the election.”
The firm, which was established in 2014 by four ex-Britam senior executives Edwin Dande, Elizabeth Nkukuu, Patricia Wanjama, and Shiv Arora, currently has an asset base of about Sh82 billion.
“We have capital of about Sh14 billion in land and cash with 10 projects in investable real estate,” chief investment officer Elizabeth Nkukuu said.
Finnish private equity fund and financial services group Taaleri Plc is Cytonn’s biggest contributor having financed the whole of Amara Ridge with an undisclosed amount injected in the just-launched Sh20 billion mixed-use development dubbed Cytonn Towers.
“We don’t go pan-African, we pick the best ones with heavy weight on Kenya and a minor stake in Rwandese development,” Cytonn Investments Management non-executive director and Taaleri Plc’s head of Africa Antti-Jussi Ahveninen said.
The investment management firm draws funds from four main sources including foreign and local institutional investors with a 40 per cent contribution, high net worth investors at 40 per cent while diaspora and while cooperatives (small scale) investors cater for 15 and five per cent of the firm’s funds.
“Roughly 70 per cent of the monies we get go to real estate investments, the other balances are in other opportunities such as investment in KCB and NIC Bank,” Dande said. “We also took a 25 per cent stake in Superior Homes.”
Cytonn, through its cash management solutions segment has deepened its investment in the stock market, currently the fifth largest shareholder in KCB and the 10th largest shareholder in NIC.
“In February, we noticed that KCB was trading at less than one-time its book value so we took roughly Sh800 million and bought when the share price was in the mid-twenties now it is roughly around Sh42 making at least 80 per cent return in a very short period of time,” Dande said.
Cytonn yesterday launched Cytonn Towers, a Sh20 billion mixed-use development in Nairobi’s Kilimani area.
Construction of the 150 meters high, 35 floor triplex towers is expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 2018 and it will be built in phases with the structure expected to be complete by December 2022.
This adds to the firms growing portfolio with other project such as Amara Ridge which will be completed in the last quarter of this year,
The Alma, Taraji Heights, Situ Village, The Ridge, River Run Estates and Newtown.