(Nairobi, Kenya) – A Kenyan warehousing developer has avoided a KES 228 million stamp duty charge by moving properties into its recently listed real estate investment trust, using a tax exemption reintroduced through the Finance Act 2026. Africa Logistics Properties transferred three warehouses in Tatu City and Tilisi, valued at a combined KES 3.43 billion ($26.5 million / £21.2 million), into the ALP Industrial Reit without paying the levy. A fourth warehouse unit at Tatu City, worth KES 2.38 billion ($18.4 million / £14.7 million), is in the process of being moved into the trust.
ALP listed Kenya’s first dollar denominated Income Real Estate Investment Trust on the Nairobi Securities Exchange in March 2026. The listing followed a restricted offer that raised $34 million (KES 4.4 billion / £27.2 million) from new investors. A Reit is a collective investment scheme that lets investors own an interest in property by buying units. The units earn returns from rental income and capital gains generated by the assets held in the trust. Firms that issue Reits must seed them by transferring or buying property from which the units sold to the public are derived.
Before the Finance Act 2026 took effect, property transfers into Reits attracted stamp duty at a rate of four percent. The Act restored an exemption that had lapsed in 2022, following lobbying by real estate sector participants. “Accordingly, the properties will be transferred into ALP Reit without the application of stamp duty,” the company said in a regulatory filing. Reits also remain free from other taxes including corporate income tax, capital gains tax on certain property transfers, and value added tax. However, distributions paid to unit holders are not exempt from withholding tax, which is applied at five percent, the same rate levied on other dividends.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange now hosts several Reits. The Acorn Development Reit, Acorn I Reit and ILAM Fahari I Reit trade on the unquoted securities platform. The ALP Industrial Reit, Centum’s Trific green dollar I Reit and Laptrust Imara I Reit are listed on the main market segment. Reits remain a relatively new asset class in Kenya’s capital markets. The first issuance came in October 2015 through the Fahari I Reit, which is now managed by ICEA Lion Asset Management. The ALP Reit listing on 11 March 2026 marked the first dollar denominated instrument to be quoted on the exchange. The Trific green dollar I Reit followed on 29 June.
These Reits are aimed at professional and institutional investors in Kenya. The minimum investment is set at KES 5 million ($38,600 / £30,900), except for the Trific Reit which allowed minimum lots of $1,000 (KES 129,000 / £800). ALP’s filings show it has 21 investors who hold between 10,000 and 10.2 million units each. The top four investors control a combined 86.1 percent of the Reit’s 39.95 million issued units. ALP itself and InfraCo Africa Investment Limited, a Western funded infrastructure fund, each hold 10.2 million units, translating to a 25.5 percent stake apiece. The United Kingdom government entity MOBILIST Programme holds nine million units, giving it a 22.5 percent share. Jubilee Life Insurance Limited follows with five million units, a 12.5 percent holding. The remaining units are spread across 17 shareholders, the majority held under nominee accounts.
The Reit manager’s stake will rise to 33.8 percent once the fourth property is transferred in exchange for additional units. ALP will receive an extra 4.99 million units for the Tatu City warehouse, lifting its total holding to 15.2 million units. Total issued units will increase by the same margin to 44.95 million from the current 39.95 million. Statutory rules require a Reit promoter to hold at least 20 percent of issued units in the first year of listing and 10 percent in the second year. ALP’s holding remains well above that threshold.