Africa Logistics Properties Ltd (ALP) has become the first company to trade in a USD-denominated security at the Nairobi bourse after raining $34.55 million (about KES4.5 billion through ALP Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust (ALP REIT).

ALP, which invests in and manages institutional-grade industrial real estate in Kenya, is set to become the first dollar-denominated security to list and trade on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). The firm's raise represents a subscription rate of 115 percent.

In a market update on Friday, ALP said its offer attracted subscriptions from a wide investor base, including development finance institutions, domestic and regional institutional investors, and "unprecedented participation from high-net-worth individuals."

All applicants will receive their full unit allocations, the company which operates IFC EDGE Advanced green building standard warehouses in Tilisi in Limuru and Tatu City in Kiambu County stated.

“We are pleased that the market responded very positively to our offer, demonstrating confidence not only in the work we continue to do but also in the investment opportunities available in this region. As the first industrial REIT in East Africa, we are very encouraged by this outcome,” stated ALP Chief Executive Officer, Raghav Gandhi.

He noted that ALP REIT strong uptake reflects investor confidence in Kenya’s industrial real estate business and the broader regional investment environment.

The offer, which was restricted to institutional investors, will see at least 80 percent of distributable income paid to investors in line with REIT regulations.

Some of the key investors in ALP REIT include the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) through its project development solution, InfraCo, and MOBILIST, the UK government’s flagship public markets programme. 

Additionally, InfraCo has committed an additional $5 million which will be deployed as the REIT achieves further scale. 

Their participation underscores international confidence in Kenya’s industrial real estate market, ALP’s investment model and the management team’s track record. ALP facilities feature large-format warehouses, and modern loading infrastructure.

The REIT is managed by ALP REIT Management Limited, licensed by the Capital Markets Authority in November. Co-Operative Bank of Kenya serves as the trustee, Dyer & Blair Investment Bank is the transaction advisor as well as the lead placing agent and sponsoring broker, Deloitte & Touche acts as auditor, CBRE Excellerate provides property valuations, and Image Registrars is the unit registrar.

[email protected]