Centum Real Estate recently made an early payment of its KES3 billion corporate bond, emphasizing the company’s robust financial standing.
Investors in the corporate bond received their payment on Friday, November 24, approximately three weeks ahead of the bond’s maturity date of December 16, 2023.
The bondholders were granted full interest payment up to the maturity date.
Funding Source and Managing Director’s Statement
Kenneth Mbae, the Managing Director of Centum Re, highlighted that the bond repayment was financed through internally generated cash. Mr. Mbae expressed, “This payment underscores our strong liquidity position, and we appreciate our investors.” Since the bond raise in 2020, Centum Re has cultivated a healthy pipeline, pre-selling homes with signed contracts amounting to KES 20.3 billion and collecting KES 11.7 billion from customer deposits.
Credit Rating Upgrade and Affirmation by Global Credit Rating
The early payment follows a credit rating upgrade by Global Credit Rating (GCR) a month ago, citing strong cash flows. GCR maintained a stable outlook for Centum Real Estate’s national scale, long and short-term issuer ratings of BBB+(KE) and A2(KE) respectively, as well as the rating for its corporate bond. Mr. Mbae commented, “It confirms that the credit rating upgrade was accurate.”
Company Overview and Future Funding Prospects
Centum Real Estate, a leading developer of mixed-use urban nodes in the region, has notable mixed-use developments in Nairobi, Kilifi, and Entebbe, Uganda. The company’s track record assures investors of quality, value for money, timely project handovers, and a solid return on investment.
Affiliation and Future Funding Outlook
Centum Re, a fully owned subsidiary of the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed Centum Investment Company Plc, received praise from the Group CEO, Dr. James Mworia. Dr. Mworia stated that the bond payment positions Centum Re well for future funding, affirming its strong fundamentals. He added, “We have built from scratch a multi-billion-shilling enterprise that has even attracted international investors from the likes of IFC, the World Bank’s private sector lending arm.”
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