NCBA Bank Kenya has increased its lending to Mauritius-based real estate company Grit Services Ltd by 1 billion Kenyan shillings ($6.8 million) in the year ending June. This brings the total dollar-denominated credit facilities to $17.5 million for the review period, up from $10.7 million a year earlier. The loans, with an interest rate of 11.84 percent and due in January 2024, are priced based on transactions in the U.S. treasuries market. Grit Real Estate Income Group, the parent company of Grit Services Ltd, has been expanding its investments in Kenya and other regional property markets, with assets including Naivasha's Buffalo Mall, the U.S. embassy's gated estate in Nairobi, Imperial Warehouse, and Orbit Africa's manufacturing facilities. NCBA's loans are secured by Grit's properties in Kenya.
Grit Services Ltd's borrowings from NCBA accounted for 3.83 percent of its total debt in the year ending June, up from 2.27 percent a year earlier. Grit, primarily financed by South Africa's Standard Bank Group, has been diversifying its banking relationships. In addition to NCBA, it also holds credit facilities from Housing Finance Corp, amounting to $4.3 million, which funded the construction of Buffalo Mall, a subsidiary now fully controlled by the multinational. Grit's continued expansion in Kenya includes projects like the construction of the Eneo office tower in Tatu City, which is expected to be completed in the second quarter of the following year.