JUBILEE BUYS COCA COLA’S UPPERHILL BUILDING IN KSH1.1B DEAL

Jubilee has bought Coca cola’s UPPERHILL building in KSH 1.1 billion deal

Insurer Jubilee has completed the purchase of a 116,350 square-foot commercial property in Upperhill, Nairobi previously occupied by Coca Cola East Africa

Jubilee acquired the property for Ksh1.1 billion. Jubilee Holdings Board Chair Nizar Juma described it as ‘a good deal’.

The property, sitting on 3.2 acres in Upperhill, a high-end business district – has a three-storey Grade A office complex as its main feature. Among other facilities, it includes 130 parking spaces, a sound-proof auditorium, gym and a cafeteria.

It was put up for sale through realtor Knight Frank in 2019. At the time, it was reported that Coca Cola was looking to sell for over Ksh1 billion.

The location served as Coca Cola’s regional headquarters until 2019. At the time, the beverage giant explained the move to a new location in Lavington as being in line with their shift to ‘more open and less formal’ workplaces as it also looked to get employees closer to residential areas.

Juma told Business Daily that they planned on moving into the Upperhill building in September. The firm is currently based at Jubilee Insurance House along Wabera Street in the Central Business District.

They are adding one floor to the ex-Coca Cola building and undertaking various renovations ahead of the big move.Jubilee’s fund management, life, and health businesses divisions will also move into the Upperhill building.

The NSE-listed insurer had a strong 2021 as profit after tax rose to Sh6.83 billion from Sh4.08 billion the previous year.“In 2021, our primary focus was on product and service improvement through the deployment of new offerings especially in the SME and Micro segments.

As a result of leveraging on enhanced distribution capabilities through our digital platforms, we were able to transact premiums of over Sh150 million. This represented a 700 per cent YoY growth compared to 2020”, Group CEO Julius Kipng’etich noted.

By Business today