SFS Capital Nigeria Limited manages the SFS Real Estate Investment Trust Fund, listed on the Nigerian Exchange in 2008 as the country's first publicly quoted REIT, alongside UH REIT. In 2026 unitholders ratified its appointment as fund manager of UPDC REIT, following the resignation of Stanbic IBTC Asset Management and a trustee-led process in which six managers were assessed against criteria set by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Winning a competitive mandate on one of Nigeria's larger listed trusts is the clearest external test of an asset manager's standing, and SFS Capital passed it.
The record on its own fund supports the appointment. For the year to 31 December 2025, SFS REIT reported total income of ₦717.4m, up 29 per cent, and net income of ₦628.5m, up 32 per cent, against average headline inflation of 23.3 per cent. Distribution per unit rose 31.6 per cent to ₦28.30 and the unitholder base grew 61 per cent. A revaluation of the portfolio, independently valued at ₦5.51bn, produced a fair value gain of ₦3.48bn, lifting total comprehensive income to ₦4.11bn from ₦477.1m and net assets to ₦6.46bn from ₦2.78bn. That gain is unrealised, and the recurring story is the narrower one: rental income growing ahead of inflation across a portfolio where seven of eight properties held full occupancy and rent delinquency ran at 1.7 per cent.
Active stewardship is the stated mechanism. SFS Capital retains investment and property management while supervising outsourced facility management, creating accountability across leasing, upkeep and capital decisions. The firm cites a completed 140-car parking facility that supported a substantial rent increase at an office-and-residential complex, and a refurbishment at Kingsley Building which it describes as having lifted rental value four to fivefold. Northern Foreshore Estate, added during 2025, remains under construction and is not yet contributing income.
Beyond the portfolio, SFS Capital has funded and circulated an industry report and put structures to pension funds, their regulator and policymakers, arguing for regulated capital in residential REITs. Nigeria's 2025 tax legislation recognises real estate investment companies expressly and exempts qualifying rental and dividend distributions where at least 75 per cent of income is distributed within twelve months of the year end. Proposals on tokenisation and convertibility remain subject to regulatory approval.
The Capital Finance International (CFI.co) Judging Panel congratulates SFS Capital Nigeria Limited on winning the Best REIT Asset Manager West Africa 2026 Award.