Messrs Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) and Standard Bank are raising the bar in commercial and retail property development, with the launch of an $182-million office complex project in Lagos.

Designed by the firm of Stauch Vorter Architects, the A-grade high-rise office towers named “Wings”, is located along the waterfront of the upscale Ozumba Mbadiwe, Victoria Island, in Lagos with estimated completion date in Q1 2016

RMB Westport, Nigeria, Oando Plc, Vante Property Asset management Services, Standard Bank, midwifed the ambitious project, which sod turning was done last week in Lagos.  To ensure the project is successful, both RMB and Stanbic IBTC have committed $100m development and long-term debt funding for the complex.

At the ground breaking to commence construction of the office complex, Michael Larbie. RMB Nigeria chief executive  and Regional Head, West Africa, disclosed that  RMB Westport would be leading the development management team responsible for The Wings, assuring that the  same level of success that the team achieved in developing Ikeja City Mall would be experienced at The Wings.

“The Wings represents our commitment to use our expertise and resources to support landmark projects in Nigeria. With the launch of RMB Nigeria, earlier this year, we expect to structure and fund more projects in real estate and, indeed, across other sectors of the Nigerian economy”, he said.

Hence, our goal is to deploy resources across the different sectors of the economy to enable us  participate and benefit from the investment opportunities in such areas as property, infrastructure development, resources, manufacturing etc”, he added.

In their remarks at the ground breaking event, Jubril Adewale Tinubu, Group CEO, OandO Plc, which will be the anchor tenant occupying one of the towers, expressed gratitude to the equity providers  and all other stakeholders, while Sola David-Borha, CEO, Stanbic IBTC, explained that their involvement in any project is  based on their understanding that the client is resilient, focused and dependable. “We are pleased to be part of this project”, she added.

Wings Office Towers is an A-grade commercial building in Victoria Island, Lagos, comprising two towers and a total of approximately 25 500m2 lettable office space. Victoria Island is situated between Lagos Island and the Lekki Peninsula in the Lagos Lagoon – one of Nigeria’s most exclusive addresses.

A number of key milestones have been achieved so far, including the drafting and execution of key transactions documents; regulatory approval for the project and an extension of the land lease. Next steps include: further deployment of local partners’ equity contribution to the project; the transfer of the project land into the in-country development company; and the conclusion of senior debt agreements.

2013-12-10