Residential and Commercial Real Estate in Accra: Meridian Apartments and Atlantic Tower

Interview with Dakmak Radwan, CEO at Meridian Apartments

What are the latest trends, especially in office rental, here in Accra? What kind of market is it? What are the main actors and the competition?

There are a lot of properties coming up in the commercial sector in Accra, but there is not much demand. So, there is a surplus supply of office space at the moment, simply because the investors are not flowing in. There is a lot of interest in Ghana, especially in the oil and gas sector, and especially after Ghana won the border dispute case against Côte d’Ivoire. That was a big advantage for the oil and gas sector and we can see a lot of interest in the residential sector, but surprisingly, not in the commercial sector. This will take a bit of time. For example, ExxonMobil has signed a preliminary agreement with the government, but it needs approval from the Parliament and some local content requirements which is delaying that process. Once a giant like ExxonMobil comes onboard, a lot of oil related service companies will come, too. Our main issue now is that there is an abundance of supply. In the past few years, Ghana was booming. There was huge amount of construction going on, especially in the commercial sector. And now, the demand is not there. But, in 2018 or early 2019, we will see a big improvement.

Are there any measures with policies or taxes that the government could do to help?

Atlantic Tower is made up of two towers: there is the main commercial building and attached to it is a project which is in the pipeline of a residential hotel apartment building made up of 100 rooms.

Basically, they need to encourage investors to come. No investor will come if you do not give him the right environment to do business: flexibility in terms of taxes and flexibility in terms of conditions to be able to come to Ghana. Ghana is a very attractive country in West Africa. Politically, we are the best in the sub Saharan Africa region. Compared to Nigeria or Côte d’Ivoire, a lot of companies are relocating to Ghana simply because of our political stability and political climate. That is a big advantage for this country. Now, we need to fulfill the rest of the requirements. For example, in the manufacturing sector, the cost of electricity in Ghana is one of the most expensive in the region. Any investor who wants to come into that sector would look at the cost of running his business. From the exploration of oil and gas, the gas would help in lowering the cost of generating power which will also help the manufacturing industry. The objective of the government is to create employment, and you need the construction and manufacturing sectors to do that. We are directly and indirectly being affected by government policies. If the government is flexible with investors, they will come to Ghana more and we will be able to rent our commercial and residential spaces.

There are many companies in this sector. What do you have to offer that is different? What are your key competitive advantages?

First of all is location. In properties, they say, “location, location, location.” Airport City is the most sought-after location in terms of commercial space. Secondly, the quality. We are providing an A Grade, quality building in terms of safety, quality of material, and energy efficiency. These specifications we are implementing at Atlantic Tower attract the kinds of international companies that look for good quality properties. There are a lot of properties in town, but they do not all meet the international companies’ criteria and the standards that they expect.

What is the approach you have with your clients?

Apart from having a good location and an A Grade building, we are flexible in the terms of the rentals. In the past, people used to pay two to three years’ rent in advance. Things have changed. Competition is good in a way, in that it is to the advantage of the consumer, or the tenant in this case. Now, we can go as low as six months’ rent in advance. This is something that will also help the investor in reducing cost. In addition to having an efficient building in terms of power consumption, we have the latest technology in lighting and air conditioning to provide an A Grade building with a minimum operational cost, which is also a big advantage for the investor or the tenant.

What is Atlantic Tower? How many offices do you have and what can a company expect if they come here? What services are provided?

Atlantic Tower is made up of thirteen floors with two basement parking levels. There is approximately 13,500 square meters of both retail and commercial space suitable for banks, showrooms, any kind of commercial business. We are also flexible in terms of partitioning, so you can acquire a space as little as 100 square meters upwards. It is designed such that it can accommodate any demand on multiple floors. Plus, our parking ratio is one of the highest in the area. Instead of the standard 1.5 parking lots per 100 square meters, we can provide our tenants with two parking lots per 100 square meters.

What other projects are you currently involved in or planning?

Atlantic Tower is made up of two towers: there is the main commercial building and attached to it is a project which is in the pipeline of a residential hotel apartment building made up of 100 rooms. There is a lot of demand for serviced apartments in Ghana. If you are coming for a longer stay, especially with the inflows from the business community, there is a high demand for a space where you can have a small kitchenette within the apartment. That is the kind of service we will be providing there.

When will the residential section be ready?

The residential structure is completed, and we are negotiating with two operators at the moment and working on selecting one of them. Once we agree on the details, we will start with the finishes. On the commercial side, we are expected to have the first tenant moving in in August 2018 and hopefully within 9 to 12 months, we should have the residential hotel apartments ready.

What other residential projects are you involved in?

We also have Meridian Apartments which was completed in 2009. In 2010, we received the Residential Developer of the Year award. Meridian Apartments is made up of 120 units of various sizes of apartments ranging from one to four bedrooms. In the area, there are a lot of apartments, and a lot of vacancies. But thankfully, with the good name that we have achieved, we are at 98% occupancy throughout the year and for the past years of operation, which for us is a big achievement. We even have a waiting list on our apartments.

What are the main challenges that the industry is facing here?

There are challenges in every business, but nowadays, service is most important. If you provide good service, you will always be able to make it. For example, here at Meridian, the quality of apartments, the quality of the finishes in the apartment, and the quality of service that we provide is what makes us one step ahead of all the other competitors. It is word of mouth. People come in here, before they even leave, you see their colleagues, their successors are coming to take their place. So, we do not have a problem in marketing ourselves because we provide a good service.

Project yourself to the medium term, two to three years’ time. What would you like to have achieved and what is your mission?

In the residential segment, we are not considered the best yet, but we are at the top. My aim is to achieve the same with the commercial segment. I hope, next year, if we meet again, you will tell me Atlantic Tower is number one in Accra. This is achievable with the good service we can provide, and we will hopefully become number one.

What is your message for international investors about Ghana and the business environment here?

I would say Ghana is one of, if not the best place in Africa to invest. Ghana is a very safe place both politically and in terms of security. I really encourage everyone to come to Ghana. I am third generation. My grandfather came to Ghana in 1922. We have been here for all these years and we are here to stay. Ghana is the right place to be.

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