UAP seeks to set the pace in Africa
UAP Group Managing Director Dominic Kiarie during the interview at his office on February 14, 2014. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE
What you need to know:
- The combined strengths of Old Mutual and UAP will give our customers unrivalled access to a full suite of financial services.
- The complementarity of two strong brands — UAP, a distinctive brand south of the Sahara and north of the Limpopo, and Old Mutual, a strong global brand and South Africa’s leading insurance brand — will result in better value offering and strong future prospects.
- We are currently in the final phase of completing the UAP Tower in Upper Hill, which will stand at 5,700 feet above sea level with 33 storeys and 350,000 square feet of office space to let.
UAP insurance has been in the news thanks to change of shareholding, which saw local investors pave the way for Old Mutual to take a significant control of the company.
The company is also building one of the biggest towers in the country at Nairobi’s Upper Hill.
Smart Company interviewed the group managing director, Mr Dominic Kiarie. He explains what this means to shareholders and the property market.
Q: Recently, UAP had a change in ownership with the entry of Old Mutual. How is this expected to change the business?
This is an exciting development for our business and for our clients. The combined strengths of Old Mutual and UAP will give our customers unrivalled access to a full suite of financial services.
Our partnership is aligned with our vision of creating a revolutionary African financial services company that delivers what customers want and where they need it.
The combined UAP and Old Mutual businesses in Kenya will be enhanced to include insurance, investment management, properties, banking and securities brokerage, thus creating a strong operating platform to continue growing the business.
The growth of the UAP business in new markets including Tanzania, Rwanda and DRC will also be enhanced to encompass all products and services under the combined UAP-Old Mutual brand.
The complementarity of two strong brands — UAP, a distinctive brand south of the Sahara and north of the Limpopo, and Old Mutual, a strong global brand and South Africa’s leading insurance brand — will result in better value offering and strong future prospects for current and future clients by leveraging on the strengths of both organisations, which include IT systems, distribution, a wide range of products and services as well as strong leadership teams.
UAP has had a very robust regional expansion programme, which has seen you have a footprint in six countries. What are your future plans on this front?
Our vision is to be Africa’s revolutionary financial services group. To achieve this, we will continue to offer services in countries that we currently operate in whilst scouting for more opportunities within the African continent.
Property development has been one of the key segments of the UAP Group business with a number of subsidiaries dedicated to this. How big is this portfolio and what are some of the key investments that you have made or undertaking currently?
Our current portfolio value is over Sh15.4 billion as per the last valuation undertaken in 2014.
This covers Union House, Equity Centre, Telkom Plaza and UAP Tower all in Nairobi; UAP Insurance House, Nakawa House, Nakawa Business Park in Kampala; UAP Apartments, Equatoria Tower both in Juba, South Sudan; Besides, (there is) Mixed Prime Property in Kigali Rwanda.
We are currently in the final phase of completing the UAP Tower in Upper Hill, which will stand at 5,700 feet above sea level with 33 storeys and 350,000 square feet of office space to let.
The UAP Tower is a testament to UAP Group’s stability, vision and its dependability as a leading regional financial services organisation.
With Sh15 billion its means UAP is betting big on the property business in East Africa. What are the reasons for this optimistic outlook?
Reasons to be optimistic are many and varied. Demand for high-end office space or what is globally known as grade A is very high in Nairobi. As Nairobi continues to cement its place as a global financial centre, so is the demand for globally rated real estate that goes with it.
We have also conducted extensive research on the property market in East Africa and we have every reason to believe that the current positive economic outlook and the projected growth prospects point to a very bright future.
Secondly, if you look at the performance of the economies across the region, they are all pointing towards high returns, especially in the real estate sector.
Another reason to be optimistic is the growing investor confidence in East Africa, mainly driven by new-found resources such as oil and other natural resources. We believe the demand for real estate will continue to rise as a result.
What should investors expect on your future plans on the property development segment?
We have a robust strategy for the property business. Going forward, we are exploring the possibilities of entering into other property development segments namely retail, warehousing and residential.
In line with this, plans are underway to start developing a mixed property in Kigali, Rwanda, which will include shopping malls, offices and residential.
There is also the launch of phase two of Juba Apartments in South Sudan and re-developing of UAP Insurance House in Kampala, Uganda. This is aligned to the UAP Group’s vision to be Africa’s Revolutionary Financial Services Group.
