Barclays to relocate to P110m CBD complex

MONKAGEDI GAOTLHOBOGWE
Staff Writer | Wednesday August 14, 2013 00:00

The 5,000 square metres complex, which forms the second phase of the  Prime Plaza, is currently being  built at the tune of P110 million by   listed property developers, Prime Time. The first phase of the Prime Plaza is a two storey building which was completed last year and is already occupied by CEDA.Speaking at the signing ceremony, Barclays  chairman  Rizwan Desai  said that they beat several other competitors who were eyeing the same complex. The chairman said the current headquarters, Barclays House,  is now becoming old hence the need to move to a newer location.

'We will certainly make our presence felt. It is tailor-made for the presence of a modern bank operation, a world class building for a world class financial institution,' said the Barclays chairman.He added that the new headquarters will also house a wellness centre with a modern fitness centre for employees. According to Barclays head of corporate real estate Baks Chakalisa, the new building is expected to be ready for occupation by August 2014, with two basement floors. He hailed the complex for its strategic positioning which he says will give their brand unparalleled visibility from all angles. 'It has a 360 degree view. The brand will be visible from all angels, and it is also accessible from the Gaborone West Phase II road, or from the Masa complex road,' explained Chakalisa.He further estimated that the complex is capable of housing 410 workers.

Asked whether there will be another Barclays branch at the new complex, Chakalisa said, 'there is space for one for sure'. According to Barclays acting MD Oupa Monyatsi, the process of securing the new Barclays House headquarters started over 16 years ago, long before he joined the bank.Developers, PrimeTime said they started work in April, and they are currently four months ahead of schedule. Barclays' move to the new CBD follows in the footsteps of  its peer, FNBB which relocated its headquarters to the Gaborone new business address this year.In 2012, parastatals led the way in taking up office space in the CBD with CEDA relocating from the Main Mall to Prime Plaza and BITC and NBFIRA taking the larger chunk of the space at the landmark Exponential Building.

According to property experts, Knight Frank, stronger than anticipated uptake of office space in the CBD mostly from government or quasi-government institutions has calmed fears of a bubble burst in Gaborone's office accommodation market. On the back of aggressive and speculative construction boom in the CBD and Fairgrounds Park in the past two years, analysts had warned of a looming overheating in the market, due to the teeming growth against a static economy. But now Knight Frank says that state-backed occupiers boosted office takeup in 2012 with parastatals and government departments accounting for up to 65 percent of transactions recorded over the year with a number of the completed schemes now at or close to100  percent occupancy in the CBD.