The faces behind city’s top malls

Two Rivers Mall

Until it announced recently that it was going to cede some shares to Old Mutual, Centum Investment had a 58.3 per cent stake in Two Rivers Mall. The mall, said to be the biggest by size (62,000 square metres) in Kenya, sits on a 100 acres on Limuru Road, not far from the leafy suburbs of Nayri, Gigiri, Muthaiga and Runda. Its opening was pushed from October last year to March this year. The first phase is set to cost an over Sh25.2 billion.

Two Rivers is being developed by Athena Properties Limited, a subsidiary of Centum. It will host a five-star hotel, residential apartments, an office park and house international anchor stores.

Billionaire businessman Chris Kirubi is the majority shareholder in Centum, headed by James Mworia as the CEO. The Capital FM owner and deejay is also a director at Centum.

One of Kenya’s wealthiest businessmen, Kirubi has a fortune estimated at $220 million (Sh22 billion) as of January last year, according to Forbes. Forbes put his stake in centum at 27 per cent stake in Centum, 49 per cent stake in Haco Tiger Brands, the DHL franchise in Kenya and extensive commercial and residential real estate in Nairobi.

“This project proves that we have the capacity to tackle our own challenges such as unemployment and rapid urbanisation. We all have an opportunity to be part of something great,” said Kirubi, Two Rivers’ board chairman, during the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Vision 2030 recently.

Garden City Mall

London-based private equity firm Actis, through Actis Africa, came up with the idea to develop Garden City, an integrated residential, retail and office development. The mall will have over 400 apartments and 60,000 square metres of office space. Actis was created in 2004 as a spin-out from CDC Group, an international development institution run by the United Kingdom government. Actis invested Sh2.5 billion in GCM. Actis came to be in 2004, demerging from the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC).

At the head of Actis is Paul Fletcher, based in London. According to the company’s website, before joining CDC, Paul has worked  worked for Citibank, first as General Manager of East Africa, based in Nairobi, then as Head of Emerging Markets Strategic Planning in London: “Paul led the demerger of Actis from CDC and became Senior Partner on Actis’s formation in 2004.” He led the firm until June 2015, today he is Actis’ Chairman.

“The property and construction sector is one of the larger contributors to GDP growth and employment and if done responsibly has a positive and lasting impact on the urban environment. At Actis we take this responsibility seriously and on both the Nairobi Business Park and Garden City, we are incorporating various green initiatives into our developments and have them certified by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – a first for the region,” said Koome Gikunda, investment principal at Actis, when giving highlights of the project in 2012.

Garden City projects that it will save about Sh31.6 million annually from power bills due to its solar hybrid system - the solar carport.

The 3,300 solar panels installed on the topmost car park shade will generate 1,256 megawatt hours annually. Currently, Garden City is operated by G.C. Retail.

The Junction

Situated at the junction of Ngong Road, Naivasha Road and King’ara Road, The Junction is spacious. Offering 256,000 square feet of floor space with over 100 stores from both local and international brands, The Junction has been in existence for more than 11 years.

Offering fashion stores, a cinema experience, food courts, a supermarket and even space for a children play area, the mall is also owned by Actis.

Village Market

An Iranian patriarch set foot in Kenya and his family was to later establish and run the iconic Village Market. Initially a ten-shop establishment when it was conceived by Hamed Ehsani and his brother Mehraz Ehsani in 1992, the Village Market has grown to accommodate 150 outlets on three levels, an outdoor food court and a health and fitness centre. Another expansion will see an additional 80 units added to the establishment, which was supposed to serve as a recreational and shopping experience in Gigiri, a hot diplomatic zone. The Tribe, an hotel run by the management, sits adjacent to the mall. The Tribe was designed by Mehraz.

The Ehsani family still runs  what is now a business empire with Hamed’s sons Hooman and Soha Ehsani travelling to Dubai in 2014 to receive an award for the newest addition to the family business. Palm Valley, the new mixed-unit residential development, was named the Best International Residential Development at the 2014/15 International Property Award ceremony in Dubai, held in December 2014.

Galleria

Sitting on 12 acres in Nairobi’s suburb of Karen, Galleria Shopping Mall is a vibrant modern shopping centre, dining and entertainment destination, with one of Kenya’s modern brewery distiller, Sirville Brewery and Lounge, on one corner.

The mall targets clientele residing in Karen, Langata, Rongai, Ngong, Nairobi West and South B. The mall has three floors, which are occupied by Nakumatt, Bata, The Nairobi Hospital, Java, ArtCaffe and American franchise eatery KFC, among others, with about 550 parking bays.

The Sh2 billion mall is owned by Trevor Kanja, whose family runs Nairobi Homes, a real estate firm.

Sarit centre

Opened in 1983, the Sarit Centre is undergoing refurbishment that will see 20,000 square feet added to the 50,000 square feet the shopping mall offers.

It was the brainchild of Sobhagayachand Vidhu Shah and his friend Maneklal Rughani, who were running the Text Book Centre.

The two got the idea of putting up a mall after Rughani visited the Brent Cross Shopping Centre in London. Said to handle an average of 25,000 visitors a day, Sarit Centre, located in Nairobi’s Westlands, has a 300-seater cinema, food courts and expo space able to accommodate 50 stands.

Now a family-run business, the additional space is aimed at accommodating a surge in demand for retail space. A four-star hotel will also come up on the 12-acre property.

Westgate shopping mall

Operated by Westgate Shopping Mall Management, West gate Shopping Mall opened in 2007. With 350,000 square feet of retail space, the five-storey mall houses more than 90 stores, with Nakumatt Holdings and Planet Media Cinemas as its anchor tenants.

Westgate is owned by Sony Holdings, a company with Israeli origins. Indeed, Westgate has a number of Israeli outlets. The mall was the scene of the horrific September 21, 2013 terror attack that left 68 people dead and more than 200 injured. According to Business Daily, Sony Holdings is owned by Alex Trachtenberg and Vishiali Madan.

Last year, Sony Holdings lost a trade name battle against Japanese electronics giant Sony Corporation, bringing to an end the property developer’s bid to register ‘Sony’ as its exclusive trademark in Kenya, as reported by the local daily.

In 2014, the management company hired IRG, an Israeli security company to provide security and train personnel operating in the mall. Popular with urbane consumer class as well as expatriates and diplomats, the mall re-opened on July 18, 2015, with about 90 per cent of previous tenants of Westgate retaining their leases.