UAP Old Mutual’s Nakawa Business Park on Sale as Insurer Reevaluates Real Estate Investments in the Region 

Regional insurer Old Mutual Holdings Plc is preparing to divest its flagship Nakawa Business Park in Uganda as part of a sweeping exit from the East African real estate market. The move comes amid what the group describes as “shaky returns” from its property portfolio, with capital gains and rental yields failing to meet expectations in recent years.

Old Mutual Chief Executive Officer Arthur Oginga confirmed that the company is actively seeking buyers for multiple properties in its regional portfolio and is willing to dispose of the entire real estate arm if suitable offers are received.

“We have sales agreements for two properties in Kenya. The government of Rwanda has also paid us a deposit on a property, while in Uganda we are at the valuation stages,” Mr Oginga told Business Daily. “We will be selling the Old Mutual Tower as a standalone unit and are currently in negotiations. If we get offers for all our properties, of course, we will sell them.”

Nakawa Business Park: Flagship Asset on the Block

In Uganda, Old Mutual owns three key properties — a plot of land, Nakawa House, and Nakawa Business Park. The latter, which houses UAP Old Mutual’s general insurance, life insurance, and Old Mutual Investment Group, is valued at KSh4.37 billion (about UGX 126 billion).

This valuation places it among the insurer’s most prized regional holdings, alongside Kenya’s Old Mutual Tower valued at KSh5.57 billion. However, as part of its exit strategy, Nakawa Business Park will now join the list of properties earmarked for sale.

Weak Returns and Market Downturn

Old Mutual’s real estate portfolio was valued at KSh19.4 billion at the end of 2024, down from KSh21.2 billion the previous year. According to Mr Oginga, the group’s properties have suffered from muted growth in asset values and persistently low yields.

“The problem is that the way you look at property is that it is a mix between rental yields and capital appreciation for purposes of determining whether it is a credible investment or not,” he explained. “Yields never quite match market interest rates. Capital appreciation over the last 10 years has not been much, hence we have quite flat valuations. That’s the challenge until the market turns.”

Broader Regional Disposals

The planned sale of the Nakawa Business Park is part of a much broader regional disposal programme by Old Mutual, which will see the insurer offload a significant portion of its prime real estate holdings across East Africa. In Kenya, the portfolio up for sale includes some of Nairobi’s most recognisable commercial properties — the towering Old Mutual Tower, the Equity Centre, Telkom Place, Union House, NCBA Annex, and Kimathi House. In Rwanda, the company is divesting a parcel of land valued at KSh258.8 million, for which the government has already paid a deposit. Meanwhile, in South Sudan, the assets on the market comprise the Juba Apartments, the Equatoria Tower, and an additional plot of land. According to CEO Arthur Oginga, buyers have already been secured for some of the Kenyan properties, and there has been tangible interest from potential purchasers in South Sudan as well.

Financial Pressure and Business Refocus

The planned divestments come against the backdrop of a 99% drop in net earnings for Old Mutual — from KSh327 million to KSh5 million in the last financial year — driven by lower interest income, fair value losses, reduced written premiums, and higher finance costs from a loan refinancing linked to its Ugandan properties.

Old Mutual had previously considered consolidating its real estate assets into a single Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) to manage exposure, but that plan has now given way to outright sales.