Coca-Cola Plaza on Sale for a Reported Sh2 Billion

The owners of Coca-Cola Plaza in Nairobi are looking to sell the building for a reported Sh2 billion, offloading the three-storey complex at some profit, according to sources.

Coca-Cola Central East and West Africa Ltd., the regional arm of the US beverages company, which oversees 14 African countries, has moved to sell the building shortly after relocating to the newly-built 90 James Gichuru office in Lavington.

The company has hired Knight Frank to negotiate the deal. Although the realtor has declined to make the asking price public, a Sh2 billion deal would hand Coca-Cola substantial gains considering that the building was built for Sh870 million.

Designed in 2007 by GAPP Architects & Urban Designers of South Africa, in association with Triad Architects, Coca-Cola Plaza on Kilimanjaro Avenue in Upper Hill is touted as one of the greenest buildings in Nairobi.

It boasts numerous “green” features including wide clear windows with a north/south orientation to allow natural lighting to filter in while keeping direct heat away from the building to eliminate the need for a mechanical air conditioning system.

Coca-Cola Plaza’s green roof garden reduces heat gain, making the building cooler.

“The Grade A office building with 130 parking spaces is strategically located in the business district…Where it occupies one acre with the rest undeveloped. It has a sound-proof auditorium, gym, fitness studios, and a cafeteria,” Knight Frank said.

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Interested parties have up to July 4, 2019, to submit their final offers for the building.

The realtor said the three-storey complex covering 116,350 square feet on 3.26 acres is suitable for a headquarters ‘office campus’ or as an asset management and development opportunity.

Coca-Cola Plaza was opened in August 2008.

Coca-Cola’s decision to sell its headquarters aligns with a trend where companies sell their buildings to unlock capital, opting instead to rent spaces in alternative locations.

In 2016, for example, Beer maker East African Breweries sold its Ruaraka-based headquarters to Tembo Sacco, a 2,400-member savings and credit cooperative society made up of its current and former staff, in a Sh675 million lease-back deal.

Longhorn Publishers is also seeking to sell its Sh500 million headquarters on Funzi Road in Nairobi’s Industrial Area. According to the company, the sale is informed by the need to increase investments in more high-return publishing fields.

On its part, Coca-Cola says the shift is meant to redefine its working space.

“It is true paying rent is costlier than being in our building. But I think that with the space we have found, the right decision was to go into renting because this is one place that fits all our criteria,” Coca-Cola regional general manager Ahmed Rady said in a recent interview.

“It’s a costlier decision than renovating our office, but it was the right thing to do if we want to transform the place where we work,” he added.

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