Buffalo Mall is the first modern shopping complex in Naivasha strategically located on the north-west edge of town adjacent to the Trans-African Highway.
Buffalo Mall is built on an 18 hectare site and will cover a total of 22,210 square meters (gross built area) upon completion of all its three phases. The Mall provides a convenient and exciting modern shopping and leisure experience, ideal for all ages within an attractive and secure environment.
The first phase of the Buffalo Mall shopping complex which comprises 6,090 square meters, is expected to cost Sh700 million and is made up of a supermarket, a retail gallery, retail, dining and beverage areas, an outdoor amphitheater, ample car parking for public and personal vehicles and a full service filling station. Tuskys supermarkets will be its main anchor tenant having already leased 3,861 sq. m. (41,544 sq. ft.) of the space. The supermarket chain has also leased a further 2,409 sq. m. (25,920 sq. ft.) of phase two once it get complete in 2016.
Other tenants include: Java House, Mimosa Pharmacy, Optica, Wine Gallery, Chapa Copy, One Way, Rift Valley Leather,Healthy U, City Walk, Micos Drycleaners and Laundry, and Housing Finance Company of Kenya (HFCK) etc. The Mall will have a farmers market that is not only aimed at offering additional choice to customers but also to enable local traders to benefit from Mall.
Phase two and three of the Buffalo Mall will see construction of more retail space, restaurant and leisure, offices, apartments, hotel complex, and a warehouse and are expected to be fully complete by 2018.
Delamere family is one of the Buffalo Mall Investors
The Mall is being developed by a consortium of investors which include Delamere family which own a 25% stake, and British investors Lloyd Capital Partners, with 75 per cent shareholding. The total cost is funded by the investors equity and seeding debt from Housing Finance.
According to one of the Mall director, Simon Trappes-Lomax, the developers’ main focus was a location outside Nairobi where most malls are located despite increased demand from all major towns for retail space. Naivasha is a rapidly growing town situated on the shores of Lake Naivasha, and is located 76 km from Nairobi and 63 km from Nakuru.
The choice of Naivasha is focused on shoppers who travel to the town on weekends, as well as those traveling to further towns in the Rift Valley and Western Kenya. The developers are also expected to announce another target location outside Nairobi by the end of the 2015.
There has been a growing demand for retail space in Kenya driven by the growing middle class in the country and relatively unsaturated retail market. The investment has also been encouraged by the positive economic growth the country is currently experiencing, foreign interests from international brands, and further strong growth expected in the future.
The Buffalo Mall in Naivasha will increase the popularity of the town which is known for its conference tourism facilities in Kenya. The leisure and conference tourism facilities in Naivasha are very popular with business people, politicians and families.