Skye Bank Plc has said it will soon conclude its divestment from the Skye Shelter Fund, its real estate investment trust.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Skye Bank, Mr. Kehinde Durosinmi-Etti, disclosed this on the sidelines of the Fund’s fourth Annual General Meeting held in Lagos on Wednesday. Durosinmi-Etti said, “We have taken considerable steps towards divesting from the Fund and we are at the end of that process. We are more or less almost out of it.”

He, however, declined to comment on the name of the potential new investor saying, “I can’t disclose the names of the firm now. But it will still be managed by Skye Financials, which used to be one of our subsidiaries, they have always managed the fund and we will always work closely with them when they need our cooperation and we will ensure that the fund maintains its reputation.” Meanwhile, the Fund has announced a dividend of N4.04 per unit for the year ended December 31, 2011.

 The dividend, which fell below the N9 per unit paid during the corresponding period in 2010 was attributed to the tight monetary policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the lull associated with general and presidential elections year .

 Durosinmi-Etti, who is also the chairman of the fund, said the fund manager decided to minimise its sale of properties during the year because the period was not the best time to dispose of its real estate investments, noting that the 2012/2013 financial year would be better.

 According to him, the fund manager, in keeping with its tradition of paying dividend to its unit holders, sold selected real estate which had already appreciated by almost 100 per cent.

 Durosinmi-Etti said that despite the unfriendly business environment in 2011, the fund still declared a net income of about N90m making it one of the best results among other collective investment schemes.

 On the outlook of the fund manager, the chairman expressed optimism that the company’s increasing experience in successfully operating in the real estate sector would assist it to achieve a better result in 2012.

 Besides, he said the company had identified niche areas of real estate that would enhance its risk adjusted returns and would remain conservative regarding sale of its assets and focus on rental income until the performance of the industry improved.

The Skye Shelter Fund provides a vehicle for the diversification of investments in Nigeria as it invests and owns some of the choicest real estate assets in the country. Cybercrimes:

Source: Punch/Ademola Alawiye