Jim Ovia, who built Nigeria’s biggest lender by market value, is turning his attention to the Lagos skyline, declaring that “real estate is more profitable than banking” as he advances two luxury residential developments selling out on the Lagos lagoon.
Through his Quantum Luxury Properties Ltd. business, the Zenith Bank Plc founder is building the 26-floor Metropolitan Towers residential development, where units start at $1.85 million.
He’s also completing the 44-unit Quantum Luxury Towers high-rise, where apartments go from $2.8 million. Both properties are on the same Lagos lagoon where he constructed Civic Towers and Civic Center, which holds events, and the new projects are selling out, Ovia said.
Zenith Bank transition
The 74-year-old stepped down as Zenith’s chairman on May 5, completing the maximum 12-year tenure in that role.
He remains the bank’s largest individual shareholder, suggesting this is far from a clean break with the institution he ran as chief executive officer for two decades.
With banking handed off, Ovia’s latest real estate investments follow earlier bets that paid off, including selling Visafone Communications to MTN Group Ltd. a decade ago and an early bet on Moniepoint Inc., the Nigerian fintech that became a unicorn last year.
Housing deficit driver
Africa’s most-populous nation is grappling with a housing deficit of more than 20 million units, helping drive up property values across income levels. This shortage is creating strong demand for luxury properties in Lagos, where Ovia’s new developments are selling out.
Investment track record
“I’m moving into real estate full-time,” Ovia said in an interview with Bloomberg.
His move follows a series of successful investment exits: selling Visafone Communications to MTN Group Ltd. a decade ago and making an early bet on Moniepoint Inc., the Nigerian fintech that became a unicorn last year. These precedents suggest Ovia has a proven ability to identify high-growth opportunities and exit at peak valuations.
Ovia’s declaration that real estate is more profitable than banking reflects the lucrative returns available in Nigeria’s luxury property market, where a 20 million-unit housing deficit is driving up values.
The fact that both Metropolitan Towers and Quantum Luxury Towers are selling out at prices starting from $1.85 million signals strong demand among Lagos’s wealthy buyers and expatriates for high-end residential properties.
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