UPDC Shows Resilience, On Track To Launch New Residential Development

UAC Property Development Company (UPDC), Nigeria’s foremost real estate investment firm, has demonstrated resilience amidst challenging times as, according to its officials, it is perfecting plans to launch its latest project, Pinnock Prime Estate, in Lekki Peninsula II, Lagos.

BusinessDay gathered that the company, which was acquired by Custodian Investment Plc in 2020, has also notched up several positive milestones in its current journey towards growth and profitability.

With less than a month to a ground breaking event to commence construction work on the new development, UPDC is having a good run with its off-plan marketing campaign on the project.

Feelers from the market reveal that there has been demand surge for the serviced plots in the upcoming estate which, close market watchers say, translates to yet another rewarding project for the company and its investors.

“The Pinnock Prime Estate project, which is essentially a fully gated, site and serviced scheme located in Lekki next to the existing Pinnock Beach Estate, will be served with ultra- modern infrastructure and amenities,” Odunayo Ojo, Chief Executive Officer of UPDC, has assured.

Odunayo disclosed that the estate sits on 1.47 hectares of land and will be delineated along the lines of high and low-density plots. “With each plot measuring between 500 – 1000 square metres, buyers will be allowed to develop their plots in line with our approved building guidelines,” he said.

Experts are the view that the estate will benefit immensely from UPDC’s track record of developing excellent control guidelines that align with its strong value proposition and years of experience.

BusinessDay also learnt that, following its acquisition by the insurance firm, there has been growing confidence in the company and the management team the company has assembled.

UPDC is the largest publicly listed real estate development company in Nigeria. Its interests cut across asset management, property management, development management, facility management and development in various segments of the real estate sub-sectors.

Within the residential sector, it invests in site and serviced projects as well as property development projects ranging from premium to mid-income products. The company has good record of quality control, credibility, prompt and excellent delivery, as well as good location and reasonable pricing of its projects.

In recent years, UPDC has undergone corporate re-structuring aimed at repositioning it for better efficiency and return to profitability. Though such turn-around exercises take years to bring results, UPDC has already started reaping the benefits of focused management.

Expectation is that this will lead ultimately to sustained growth and good return on investment. For instance, the company has significantly reduced its interest-bearing debts following the redemption of its Corporate Bond and refinancing via a lower interest-bearing loan in April 2021.

The net effect of this decision is the decrease in finance cost by over 51 percent year-on-year (YoY) in 2021 amongst other positive indices. The new management of the company has started assembling a team of professionals with several years of local and international experience in the real estate industry to put the company on the path of growth.