Acorn Investment Management Limited has kicked off the process of selling Qwetu Aberdare Heights; student hostel near the United States International University-Africa (USIU-Africa).
According to Business Daily, Raghav Gandhi, managing director at Acorn said the property was sold for KSh 1.78 billion.
The same was contained in the company’s report for the half year ended in June.
Acorn noted that the 697-bed capacity hostel currently has 75 percent occupancy rate up by 22 percent from the previous year.
The rental fee for the rooms ranges from KSh 9,900 to KSh 14,500 per month.
The occupancy rate had sank after USIU went online for the better part of 2021 due to the effects brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“…the property has bounced back with the resumption of in-person learning at the institution,” Acorn said in its report.
The deal was finalized after Acorn was given a go ahead to sell off the property and part of the funds used to repay a KSh 800.2 million debt.
This comes barely a month after the hostel was transferred from Acorn Student Accommodation D-Reit to Acorn Student Accommodation I-Reit.
Acorn – an integrated Real Estate company was founded by Edward Kirathe in January 2008.
The company began by investing in the university hostels sector before entering into a partnership with Helios Investment Partners in 2015.
This saw the company change from Acorn Group Limited to Acorn Holdings Limited focused on developing large-scale affordable rental housing.
Acorn is behind the most iconic and landmark buildings in East Africa such as the head office of Coca-Cola East and Central Africa (Upper Hill, Nairobi), Deloitte East Africa head office, Equity Center and Nakawa Business Park in Kampala, Uganda.
In October 2019, Acorn issued the first Green Housing Bond in Africa which in January 2020 became the first Kenya Shilling bond to list on the London Stock Exchange.
The company was then recognized at the 5th Annual Climate Bonds Initiative and awarded the Green Bond Pioneer Awards for its genuine contribution to reducing carbon emissions in the country.
In February 2021, Acorn successfully launched the Acorn Student Accommodation D-REIT and I-REIT which are managed by Acorn Investment Management Limited (AIML), a wholly owned subsidiary of Acorn Holdings Limited.
