Travers Smith corporate partner Helen Croke and corporate senior associate Chris Flavin have advised Government backed emerging markets investor, CDC Group plc and the World Bank’s investment arm, the International Finance Corporation, on their investment in a $250 million real estate project in Kenya.

The project, being led by emerging markets private equity investor, Actis, will result in the building of a new shopping centre and 76 residential units.  The Nairobi site was purchased from Diageo-owned East African Breweries Limited in 2011 and the first stage of construction is expected to begin at the end of the year.
 
CDC Regional Director Dolika Banda said: “Garden City will provide vital jobs in Nairobi, and benefit  the local economy through its supply chain, infrastructure and new opportunities. Few investors have an appetite for green-field real estate projects in sub-Saharan Africa, so this investment sends a strong signal of our commitment to Kenya’s development and our confidence in its economic potential.”
 
Founded in 1948, CDC Group plc is the UK’s Development Finance Institution (DFI) wholly owned by the UK Government’s Department for International Development. It is the world’s oldest DFI with a history of making successful investments in businesses which have become industry leaders thereby having enormous impact on the private sector in their country and region.
 
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector in developing countries. Established in 1956, IFC is owned by 184 member countries.  It works in more than a 100 developing countries allowing companies and financial institutions in emerging markets to create jobs, generate tax revenues, improve corporate governance and environmental performance, and contribute to their local communities.