Sentinel Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust acquires One Airport Square

The Sentinel Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust (the Sentinel REIT), the first Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) licensed under the current Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) REIT Guidelines has acquired One Airport Square (OAS), the iconic Grade A building in the prime area of Accra’s Airport City.

The nine-story OAS is a mixed-use building with a commercial space of 2,000 square meters and office space of 15,000 square meters. Boasting state-of-the art facilities, the building, which houses several blue-chip corporates, has a current occupancy rate of 80percent.

The acquisition of OAS was executed through a combination of equity and debt financing. Equity capital was provided by Stanbic Investment Management Services (representing Cocobod, Axis Pensions Trust and several other pension schemes), Petra Trust, United Pension Trustees, General Trust, Bora Capital Advisors, Tesah Capital and Black Star Advisors. Nedbank, a leading property finance lender in South Africa provided the debt components of the acquisition comprising a term loan facility and a short-term bridge facility.

“We are thrilled to have successfully acquired our first asset, a building that exemplifies the quality and strategic focus of the Sentinel REIT. This acquisition aligns with our strategy of investing in high-quality, income-producing assets with strong growth potential.

OAS benefits from a prime location, a diverse tenant base and significant upside potential. The acquisition also reflects our team’s dedication, expertise, and commitment to delivering value to our investors” said Kisseih Antonio, CEO of Sentinel Asset Management Limited, promoters and managers of the Sentinel REIT.

“We extend our gratitude to the SEC and the capital providers whose collaboration and support were instrumental in us successfully closing the acquisition. We also want to highlight Nedbank’s contribution in enabling the transaction to be as seamless as it was considering that the Sentinel REIT is the first investment vehicle exclusively dedicated to investing in real estate in Ghana.

As such, their international track record in funding REITs and their local market experience in real estate financing were invaluable. In addition, their provision of a short-term bridge facility to the Sentinel REIT was key to the successful acquisition of OAS.”

The Sentinel REIT is a close-ended scheme that aims to provide investors with regular and stable income with sustainable growth, liquidity and capital growth per share from investments in commercial real estate investments. The strategy for the Sentinel REIT is to invest in a portfolio of commercial real estate assets that have attractive investment fundamentals in terms of prime location, architectural design, stable tenant base, and properly structured leases.

It aims to achieve long-term appreciation of its assets and maximize returns on capital employed. The Sentinel REIT presents an opportunity for discerning investors to balance their investment portfolio by investing in assets that generate cashflow that is hedged against any depreciation of the Ghana cedi, and to partake in a stable and consistent stream.