Business Daily: Housing Finance will begin construction of 424 units at its Komarock site from mid this year in the second phase of a multi-billion shilling project. On-going cash call will go into the Komarock housing project.
Already 162 houses and a commercial centre are being built on the Komarock land and the management is looking at the possibility of packaging some of the properties into a Real Estate Investment Trusts (Reits).
Mr Ireri said one of the potential properties that can be packaged as an investment (I) Reit—where shares sold benefit from rental income—and sold to investors such as the pension funds and insurance firms is the commercial property.
By selling the commercial property as an I-Reit Housing Finance firm will be free from the day-to-day running of the mall, allowing it to concentrate on lending and development through KBS.
Housing Finance, through its subsidiary Kenya Building Society has lined up various projects that would be implemented through REIT structures.” Proceeds from the rights issue are also expected to go towards growing the lender’s loan book. Analysts expect an uptake of mortgages as interest rates begin to go down.
Britam is currently the largest shareholder in Housing Finance with a 46.08 per cent stake, has committed to participate in the rights issue which will see the firm invest Sh1.6 billion.