Resilient Africa is Investing $271m in 2nd Tier City Shopping Malls

Updated: 3rd August 2015

By year-end 2016, Resilient Africa is set to have invested $271m developing shopping malls in 2nd tier cities across Nigeria. The company, which was created through a joint venture with Resilient Properties – a leading South African REIT, Shoprite and Standard Bank, is attempting to establish a strong foothold in cities where little or no formal retail exists. Within this group, all projects will see Standard Bank acting as the financier, Shoprite the main anchor tenant and Resilient as the developer.

Until recently, all of their investment interest was geared towards South Eastern Nigeria in cities like Benin, Owerri, Effurun (near Warri) and Asaba, where the new shopping centers would be 13,000sqm and cost $50m on average. However, Resilient Africa recently indicated that it will be making its first investment in South Western Nigeria through a $68m 15,600sqm shopping center in Abeokuta, their largest mall and most costly investment to date.

The amount of capital being invested to develop malls in regions outside Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt by firms like African Capital Alliance, Resilient Africa, Alpine Investments and more demonstrates the confidence these investors have in Nigerian 2nd and 3rd tier cities. While the stats will easily show that there is a deficit in formal retail across the entire country, doubts still exists in the purchasing power of the population and their ability to support large shopping malls; especially in cities where most residents are civil servants.

Moving on, as the name suggests, Resilient Africa will also be investing in other African countries once ideal opportunities arise, however they have explicitly expressed interest in listing as a REIT on the Nigerian stock exchange. This is subject to the presence of accommodating legislation, otherwise they may be forced to list on another African exchange.

See below for details on 5 of Resilient Africa’s retail investments to date.

Delta Mall, Effurun, Warri – Delta State

• Location: Effurun, Near Warri
• Size: 13,980sqm
• Cost: $58m
• Completion Date: Q2 2015

Benin Mall, Edo State

• Location: Benin City, Edo State
• Size: 13,300sqm
• Cost: $51m
• Estimated Completion Date: Q4 2016

Owerri Mall, Imo State

• Location: Owerri, Imo State
• Size: 13,000sqm
• Cost: $44m
• Completion Date: Q4 2015

Asaba Mall

• Location: Asaba, Delta State
• Size: 13,000sqm
• Cost: $50m
• Completion Date: Q3 2015

Abeokuta Mall, Ogun State

• Location: Abeokuta, Ogun State
• Size: 15,600sqm
• Cost: $68m
• Completion Date: Q4 2016