Fresh moves have begun to motivate use of mortgage towards property ownership in the commerce and trade sector as FirstBank of Nigeria Plc last week offered mortgage facilities for individuals and corporate organisations to acquire shops in the ultra-modern Tejuosho Shopping Complex in Yaba, Lagos.
The market, which is a tripartite public private partnership (PPP) project between the Lagos State Government, Stormberg Nigeria Limited and FirstBank of Nigeria Plc, offers facilities ranging from lifts to escalators, fire stations to standby generators, hospitals to restaurants, car parks to security facilities, banks and modern facilities management.
Presenting keys to 50 allottees recently FirstBank’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Bisi Onasanya, said that prospective shop owners would be offered generous interest rate on mortgage facilities with an eight years payback period to acquire shops in the market as the mortgage financing is targeted at former tenants, interested investors and small and medium enterprises.
“Our resolve to serve as the sole financiers of this project was borne out of the felt need to rapidly reconstruct a business hub that served and will serve once again as the economic live wire of a huge population from far and wide. It brings to the fore our commitment to growing the economy through support for entrepreneurship and trade development. This shopping complex is comparable to and in some respects, offers much better facilities than any of its type anywhere in the world, from lifts to escalators, fire stations to standby generators, hospitals to restaurants, car parks to security facilities, banks and modern facilities management,” Onasanya stated.
Also the bank’s Executive Director, Corporate Banking, Mr. Kehinde Lawanson said that the bank’s considered its involvement in infrastructure and mortgage financing as a “development responsibility geared towards economic empowerment and addressing the nation’s infrastructural gap.”
According to Lawanson, FirstBank in addition to financing the multi-billion-naira project had provided substantial mortgage facilities for people to be empowered to acquire shops and other outlets in the market. He also said that the bank was offering would-be shop owners generous interest rate on mortgage facilities with an eight-year payback period to acquire shops in the market.
“With a potential for over 100,000 shoppers daily and an expected N5 billion daily turnover, Tejuosho market is set to serve as oil that will further lubricate the economy. We are happy to be part of the project and we enjoin individuals and corporate entities to approach our branches in Lagos to sign up for mortgages to position themselves for the endless opportunities at the new Tejuosho market,” he said.
Lawanson added that the new complex would change the face of shopping in Lagos completely, create more jobs for the populace, and foster enhanced trade opportunities for all classes of traders.
On the uniqueness of the facility, which will enable applicants acquire the over 4,040 shops of different sizes K-Klamp and over 2,000 lock up shops, he said: “The off-takers can acquire the shops with minimal initial capital outlay, while repayment of the mortgage can be serviced from daily sales proceeds (and other regular income sources) by the off-takers.”
The multi-billion naira Tejuosho project was developed to world-class standards, with a provision for escalators, fire-fighting equipment, ground floor parking and another multi-storey car park (total capacity is over 800 vehicles), fire stations, banks, hospitals, eateries, dedicated power generators, and modern facility management structures, among others.
The bank was also involved in the funding of the transformation of the market after it was gutted by fire in 2007, in line with its policy on promoting economic development and prosperity through sustained public private partnerships.
It would be recalled that the bank has been involved in several real estate financing projects as well as market development projects in Abuja, Owerri, and Port Harcourt, among others.