My passion lay in real estate

Real estate mogul PETE MURAYA of Suraya Property Group knows that persistence pays. He made several wrong moves before he finally hit jackpot. He owes his success to his unwavering faith and supportive wife, writes PETER MUIRURI

Sitting comfortably in his modest office along Shanzu Link, Pete Muraya portrays the very picture of contentment.  The multi-billion real estate venture he and his wife Sue created six years ago has become a brand of sorts, revolutionalising people’s lifestyles brick by brick.

But life was not always cosy for Pete, the soft-spoken CEO of Suraya Property Group. His has been a long and treacherous journey that started in his home area of Kahaini, Muranga County.

His father, then an officer in charge of the bustling Kenya Prison Industries made sure that the young boy got a taste of two worlds – city and rural life.

At Kamiti Nursery School, Pete had the luxury of donning shoes, a ‘privilege’ he lost when his father decided to transfer him to Mugecha Full Primary School in Kandara for the first three years of primary education.

“When I reported to the local school, I was chased away for wearing shoes while everyone else walked barefoot. As a result, jiggers had a party feasting on my soft feet. Thankfully, we had some local antiseptic, the bitter juice of ndongu (solanum) plant,” recalls Pete.

A HUSTLER

He was again transferred to Nairobi Primary for the remainder of his basic education. Still, all holidays were spent working on the family’s coffee farm in Murang’a.

Pete joined Lenana High School both for his O and A levels from 1975 to 81 where he became a proficient rugby player. Yet, growing up in a family of three brothers and four sisters turned Pete into a hustler of sorts.

“I would hire my father’s pickup and transport other people’s coffee to the factory as my first foray into the world of business. So good was the venture that by the time I was joining the University of Nairobi in 1982, I had ‘graduated’ to transporting French beans to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport,” says Pete.

Pete later graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture in 1987.

Having tried his hand in menial work, Pete had already made a resolve of not going for formal employment.

 His father’s goal was to use his connections and see his son absorbed in the formal sector. “My dad wanted me to get what he termed as ‘a proper job,” says Pete.

A meeting with his future mother-in-law changed his perception of self-employment. A protocol officer at the Office of the President, she had managed to set up some side jobs, and although she would lose some money due to her busy schedule, she never gave up trying, a trait that Pete admired.

Eye for business

“My parents were quite conservative and wanted me to remain in the straight and narrow path of formal employment. On the other hand, Sue’s mother was a bit liberal and had the courage to try her hand in business,” he says.

His confidence buoyed, Pete teamed up with his brother, also an architect to form Emms Architects, only for Pete to go it alone after four years by forming his own firm, Plence Architects in 1992.

Ever enterprising, Pete used the proceeds of his firm to diversify his business. And as he admits, however, a number of these projects were not well thought out.

First, Pete opened a furniture workshop in Kibera followed by a showroom in upmarket Westlands where prohibitive rentals saw the venture collapse.

Out goes the furniture business and in comes yet another transport business.

“I decided to buy a lorry to transport goods to the Great Lakes region, a venture that soon crumbled when some fellows decided to ‘butcher’ the truck and sell the differential. The lorry disappeared in the Democratic Republic of Congo without a trace in yet another business flop,” laments Pete.

Undeterred, Pete opened an entertainment joint by the name ZigZag Disco with spectacular two dance floors. To his credit, he managed to bring into the country big names such as Franco and Coolio among others.

“Again, distorted contractual agreements coupled with poor management saw me lose a lot of cash. I ended up injecting more of my savings into the business, something that was not sustainable in the long-term. Our two houses were auctioned to pay off creditors. By 1998, I was a broke man who could hardly afford Sh500 in a day,” Pete shares.

Those were difficult times for Pete and his young family. The economic slump of the late 90s forced him to reduce his office staff of 20 to just two – a technician and a receptionist.

Surprisingly, and for reasons he still says he cannot comprehend, Pete made yet another unwise move in 2002. In a bid to support his friend and then Kanu Chairman Uhuru Kenyatta, Pete offered to run for the Kandara parliamentary seat on the party’s ticket, hoping that Uhuru would become the third president of Kenya.

Lost his savings

Both lost with Pete blowing up what was left of the family’s savings.

“That experience taught me that I could not solve people’s problems through politics. Many wanted instant handouts, not future development plans. I stayed home for the next six months trying to discover my calling. Friends in the new government called me with job offers but I turned them down,” says Pete.

A good friend of Muraya’s encouraged him to read the book Rich Dad Poor Dad and see if he could discover his passion.

He says: “I knew my passion lay in real estate and was determined to pursue it. But I had a problem. I could come up with drawings but had no land or capital. In fact,s my friends thought I had lost it when they heard that I wanted to go into property development. Only Sue believed in me.

I also discovered the power of faith and vision. When it is said that ‘faith can move mountains’ most of us take that literally. Actually it means that we move the mountains in our heads and substitute them with faith.”

His market survey revealed that only a few Asian-owned companies were in the business and were fixing house prices arbitrarily. Pete wanted to break in this monopoly through what he termed as leverage – injecting what he had and partnering with others.

In a daring move in 2003, Pete charged his home for Sh15 million loan, while a friend who already had some flats, sold them and injected another Sh12 million in the first venture, Castle Rock Gardens in Kilimani.

The project soon ran into problems with National Environmental Management Authority accusing the developers of building on a riparian reserve. It was time to look for another leverage strategy.

“I literally went house to house along Kiambu Road looking for people with spare land where we could interest them with a joint venture whereby they would give out the land and we construct – sharing the accruing proceeds. Again, many thought we were jokers,” recalls Pete.

Fortunately, one landowner Munyua Waiyaki believed in the Muraya’s and helped them put up the Sh380 million Roselyn Heights pilot project. The rest is history.

Suraya has since put up numerous high-end and middle class homes.

“Always believe in yourself and have faith without letting anything or anyone discourage you from achieving your full potential,” he concludes.