Knight Frank brings Forest Mall rents back to earth

November 6, 2016 in Business, Companies, Real Estate & Property by Editor

KAMPALA, NOVEMBER6 – Global real estate consultancy Knight Frank Uganda has announced sharp drops in rent at Forest Mall with selected retail and commercial space

now going for a record $10 per square meter inclusive of service charge.

Knight Frank says the move was “strategic as we aim to breathe a new lease of life into Forest Mall which has undoubtedly the best capacity to trade in both the short to the long term.”

Although that is how Knight Frank Uganda Head of Retail Marc du Toit, put the spin to the development, 256BN understands that the move was more in line with efforts to align the property’s actual value to the market.

Save for a few corporate clients, Forest Mall had become a graveyard for business as its hungry and insensitive proprietor imposed rents that could not be justified by footfalls going into the mall. Many businesses have met their end at Forest Mall, with the landlord insisting on his pound of flesh as capital bled away on a location that was not giving returns for many, hence low occupancy rates at the mall that has been under construction for the nearly a decade.

With better conceived commercial spaces springing up in its neighbourhood, Forest Mall was a sure candidate for death row until this attempt at parole by Knight Frank.

It is believed that the low rental price will attract more outlets to the mall hence generating the traffic that can support retailers.