Coldwell Banker Commercial – Advantage for real estate consulting and development achieved sales and operations on behalf of others worth EGP 2.5bn since April. The company also signed off on preparing consulting and marketing studies for six real estate projects, according to its managing director Ashraf Warida. Coldwell Banker Commercial – Advantage was established in April, as one of the Coldwell Banker – Egypt subsidiaries.
Daily News Egypt sat down with Warida to talk about the company’s sales, projects, and Egypt’s real estate sector.
What is the company’s size of sales?
The company’s achieved third-party profits are distributed over real estate and tourism projects.
We concluded six contracts for consulting and marketing studies for six major real estate projects, including a contract with Ashgar Darna for a detailed market study for the establishment of two administrative buildings and a commercial sector. The first building will include a commercial area on 6,800 sqm and an administrative part of 12,250 sqm. The total constructions amount to an area of 19,000 sqm.
The second building consists of a commercial part on an area of 4,400 sqm and an administrative part of 8,750 sqm, totalling 13,000 sqm of constructions.
The market study for the Ashgar Darna project includes measuring the supply and demand on similar projects and preparing a detailed survey study on potential clients. This is in addition to the technical part that includes revising the initial designs and providing development proposals.
We also signed a contract with El Mostakbal for Urban Development to provide advisory services and the preparation of market studies to the company’s El Mostakbal City project on 45 million sqm.
The contract included studying and analysing the real estate market and the land of the project, as well as predicting the residential, commercial, service, and entertainment markets for the next five years. We will also specify client segments, categorise them, and study the needs of developers’ consumers and potential investment opportunities.
The company carried out a full scan of each residential area in New Cairo, Rehab, Madinaty, Shorouk, and the New Administrative Capital to determine the competitive advantages of the city of El Mostakbal City. We are also tasked with analysing the gap of real estate supply in these cities.
What about your contract with First Group?
The company entered a contract with First Group Real Estate Investment Company to study the development of a shopping centre in 6th of October City on an area of 11,000 sqm and constructions of 14,000 sqm, as well as two parking spaces on 20,000 sqm.
The study includes supervising the preparation of a market study on the project and its components, in addition to setting a strategy for the development of the project, in terms of sale, lease, and proposing potential customers, as well as selecting a designer and prepare preliminary designs.
The company completed the preparation of preliminary designs for the Trio Villa project of Misr Al Mahrousa for Real Estate Development, which is on an area of 15,000 sqm and constructions on 195,000 sqm.
We also developed the concept itself according to the vision of the owner through providing three villas in one building of five floors and a roof. A French-Lebanese designer was selected to implement the idea.
What is the final position of the West Park project?
The company completed preparing a market and technical study on the West Park project for the Egyptian Arab Company for Modern Building and Reconstruction. The land is 17,000 sqm and constructions make up 13,500 sqm.
The study includes a full assessment of the project in terms of location and architectural designs, as well as electromechanical designs and the marketing study to demonstrate the real situation of the project through identifying the products of clinics, offices, and shops.
What about your new real estate projects?
The company is currently underway to sign contracts to provide financing for several real estate projects, including a shopping mall and other tourist projects in Ain Sokhna through the preparation of a complete investment file, including comprehensive initial designs, a feasibility study, and the evaluation of the project to make it easier for investors to take the decision to invest in and finance the project.
We are also currently negotiating with a company to sell a hotel under development in El Gouna, Red Sea.
The company signed a contract to prepare a study for the optimal use and highest profitability of the project on an area of 25,000 sqm on the Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road for a real estate developer.
The contract includes a feasibility study for diverse uses, and other market studies to analyse the relative real estate sector, whether commercial, administrative, or residential.
Is there coordination with the real estate investment funds?
We are currently coordinating with real estate funds to assess and provide real estate in the Greater Cairo area, according to the acquisition strategy of such funds and their plans in the market during the coming period.
We are also nearing the completion of a strategic study of future trends of development for one company to learn the style of contributions in the market, which enable landowning bodies to enter. We are also processing 120 feddans in New Cairo through a partnership and contracting scheme. For this, we are in the latest stage of negotiations.
The company reached an agreement with one owner of a piece of land in New Cairo on an area of 100 feddans to buy it on behalf of a major real estate development company for a residential project.
Moreover, we are preparing to market a residential tower overlooking the Nile in Maadi for a developer. The constructions area is 45,410 sqm, with a total number of 190 residential units with areas ranging from 123 to 430 sqm. This is in addition to an administrative and commercial project of constructions amounting to 13,500 sqm over three floors.
What about your real estate assets?
The company completed its evaluation of multiple sets of real estate assets valued at EGP 50m, with a total land area of 10,000 sqm.
Companies and the real estate market are facing challenges to cope with changes resulting from the crises experienced by Egypt politically in the previous period, which had a direct impact on them, and contributed to the inability to measure customer demand, which has been radically changing.
How do you see the possibility of the merger of two developers to create large entities?
Crises faced by the market require mergers between some developers, creating powerful entities. Companies need to do a quick restructuring and apply modern management systems in the next phase.
The government should meet the developers during the current period to understand the challenges faced by those companies, led by the provision of suitable land to enable them to continue their work and looking at the land as a tool for the development of society and not a commodity for sale.
The state should play its legislative and supervisory roles more than being a developer that competes with the private sector. I should work to attract investors to take part in the construction boom through the development of integrated projects with detailed studies for investment opportunities to present to investors, rather than the provision of land for them.
Furthermore, it should also provide an entity that is capable of solving investors’ problems, especially Arab investors, through implementing balanced partnership contracts and supporting investors, particularly in obtaining licences.
What does the real estate market need right now?
The market is facing a severe shortage of educational, medical, industrial, and recreational projects, notably hotels and cafés. The government should prepare investment files to present to investors to bridge the gap in these projects, instead of only focusing on residential projects.
The state is also required to partner with the private sector through the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) scheme and work to allow investors to obtain larger roles in developing cities and entire communities.
