Lagos
As a response to pressing demands from satisfied clients who also wanted to acquire property in Lagos, one of the leading real estate companies in Nigeria, Brains and Hammers Limited has begun a strategic expansion of its operations into the city’s real estate market.
The company, which started business 10 years ago in Abuja and steadily built a reputation of excellence for itself, has entered into a deliberate partnership with the Lagos State Government which has led to the development of 618 housing units at the Jubilee Estate in Iganmu through a public private partnership model.
Lagos State Commissioner for Lands and Housing, Prince Gbolahan Lawal said, the mutually beneficial working relationship will relieve the government in the face of scarce financial resources as well as provides employment opportunities, thereby bringing a major democracy dividend to the community.
The project is designed to drive urban redevelopment in the area and result in increased property values in the surrounding environment and a re-positioning of the current site from one which currently offers little value to a highly sought after and well-built residential development.
It also is expected to create 400 direct jobs and about 3000 indirect jobs in the area which is dominated predominantly by the informal sector practitioners such as artisans, labourers, traders and food vendors.
Chief operating officer of Invest Homes, a subsidiary of Brains and Hammers, Mr. Ibrahim Wushishi, spoke about another developmentwhich Brains and Hammers has embarked on along the Lekki corridor.
According to him, “the Iganmu and Lekki estates will be a major statement on the company’s readiness to play big in the Lagos real estate business.
We are not leaving anything to chance. We have a reputation that goes far ahead of us. Extending the tentacles of our presence to Lagos is a calculated move to entrench the presence of the company in Nigeria’s commercial capital.”
The firm has an enviable portfolio which consists of over 2000 completed residential homes across Nigeria and ongoing work in over 3,000 more.
One of its most ambitious development to date is the Brains and Hammers City in Life Camp, Abuja.
The 3500 units City will cater to mid and high-level residents at affordable prices. Some of the facilities at the Ultra modern Brains and Hammers City will include restaurants, schools, banks, a 5-star hotel, high end security facilities, jogging tracks, gyms and swimming pools amongst many others.
The entry of Brains and Hammers into the Lagos real estate business comes at a time that the state government is eager to close the gap in the housing deficit in Lagos State which stands at over three million. According to Prince Lawal, in order to bridge the gap about 200,000 housing units must be delivered annually in the next five years.
He emphasized that government alone cannot deliver the required units of houses hence the need to inject private capital into the housing delivery.
To achieve this purpose, the state government has made land available sto prospective private developers who have exhibited technical and financial capabilities for the delivery of affordable housing units.
