Home Afrika gets green light to list shares at bourse
Nairobi Securities Exchange trading floor. Real estate developer Home Afrika plans to list on the Growth Enterprise Market Segment. Photo/FILE
Home Afrika has become the first real estate developer to get approval to list its shares at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
The firm’s shares will be floated by introduction on the newly-created Growth Enterprise Market Segment (GEMS).
The company, which started as an investment club in 2008, is behind the multi-billion shilling Migaa property, a live-in-golf community in Kiambu County.
The firm’s other properties are Lakeview Heights in Kisumu county, Llango in Kwale county and Kikwetu in Machakos county.
The approval by NSE will enable the company to list 405,255,320 ordinary shares at a price to be unveiled on Monday.
The listing on GEMS provides a perfect window for the market to determine a fair valuation of shareholders’ investment and paves way for future cash call events to drive our ambitious expansion plan in the region and the rest of Africa,” said the firm chairman Mr Lee Karuri.
The GEMS segment has less rigorous listing requirements than NSE’s other segments – Main Investment Market Segment (MIMS) and Alternative Investment Market Segment (AIMS) – making it attractive for well-run and managed small and medium enterprises to access the capital markets.
A firm can list on the GEMS with a minimum share capital of Sh10 million, in comparison to the Sh20 million requirement for the AIMS and the Sh50 million for MIMS boards.
Karuri said the listing of the shares will allow potential investors to buy into Home Afrika’s shares.
Home Afrika Limited is currently involved in three projects valued at over Sh10 billion and is focusing on undertaking about 10 projects as part of its five-year strategic plan.
Its growth plan seeks to achieve its strategic objective of attaining a project turnover of Sh84billion within the next five years.
NIC Capital is the Nominated Advisor for the listing while, PKF, Mboya Wangong’u & Waiyaki and Redhouse Public Relations are the Reporting Accountants, Legal and Communication Advisors respectively. Cooperative Bank is the Registrar.
The demand for affordable housing is significantly increasing worldwide with 5 million new units required per year according to UN Habitat. In Kenya, the housing demand continues to increase particularly in the urban areas.
