Real Estate
Acquisition and management of residential, commercial and development property in Africa and the established international capitals, including off-market access, negotiation, transaction management and full property administration after completion.
Property, bought and run properly
This practice acts for families buying homes in the cities where they live, study and do business, and for investors building income portfolios across Africa and the established capitals. Some clients come to us for a single acquisition, a residence in Paris or an office building in Johannesburg. Others hand us the whole property side of their affairs: sourcing, transactions, construction oversight and the daily administration of what they already own.
Engagements run to a fixed rhythm. A written brief defines the target and budget. Sourcing covers the open market and, where it matters, the off-market channels where the most significant properties quietly trade. A family from Libreville recently asked us for an apartment near their children's school in Paris without their name appearing in the search. We negotiated in our own name, completed within their budget, and the vendor learned the buyer's identity only at signature. After completion, our management team took over the running of the apartment the same week.
The rigour is the same in every market. Title is verified at the registry before exchange, licensed local counsel and notaries act on every transaction, surveys are commissioned independently, and price is tested against comparable evidence rather than the vendor's ambition. You receive a complete transaction file, and if we manage the property afterwards, a single monthly report. Nothing is left to assumption, and nothing is done that we could not explain to a regulator.
Residential Acquisition
A residential search begins with a written brief: location, use, budget, privacy requirements and the family's timeline. We then search the whole market, agents, developers, private owners and our own off-market network, and present a shortlist with honest notes on each property, including the ones we would not buy and why. Viewings are arranged around your travel, or conducted by us on video where you prefer not to appear.
Once you choose, we take over the transaction: valuation evidence, negotiation, surveys, title verification with local counsel, and coordination through to completion. In many cases the vendor never learns the buyer's name until exchange. You receive the keys, the file and a completed property ready for occupation or handover to our management team.
- Written search brief and market-wide sourcing
- Shortlist with candid assessment of each property
- Discreet viewings, in person or by video
- Negotiation led by AfriOne, identity protected
- Survey, title verification and local counsel coordination
- Completion management through to keys in hand
International Property
Our clients hold property where their lives actually run: Paris and London for family and education, Dubai for business and winter residence, New York for investment, Geneva for banking proximity, Cape Town for the southern summer. Each market has its own contract law, taxes and customs of negotiation. We maintain licensed local counsel, notaries and surveyors in each, so a purchase in any of them follows the same disciplined process you would expect at home.
Beyond the established capitals, we act in the African markets we know first-hand, including Libreville, Douala, Dar es Salaam, Johannesburg, Accra, Abidjan and Nairobi. Ownership structure is agreed before the offer, not after, coordinated with our wealth practice so the purchase fits your tax and succession position from day one.
- Active coverage of Paris, London, Dubai, New York, Geneva and Cape Town
- African capitals served from our own regional offices
- Licensed local counsel and notaries in every market
- Ownership structuring agreed before offer
- Currency and payment logistics across jurisdictions
- One AfriOne process, whatever the market
Commercial & Income-Producing Property
Income property is underwritten as an investment, not admired as an address. For offices, retail, hospitality and logistics assets we model rent rolls, tenant covenant strength, lease expiries, capital expenditure and realistic exit values before you commit. Where the numbers do not support the price, we say so in writing, and we walk away from more assets than we buy.
For acquisitions that proceed, we negotiate price and lease terms, commission technical and legal due diligence with licensed counsel, and arrange financing through our banking relationships where wanted. After completion the asset moves into structured oversight: rent collection monitoring, lease event tracking and an annual review of hold or sell.
- Full underwriting: yield, covenant, lease profile, exit
- Technical, legal and environmental due diligence
- Negotiation of price and lease terms
- Debt financing arranged through private banking relationships
- Post-completion asset oversight and reporting
- Annual hold or sell review
Land Acquisition & Development Advisory
Land is the asset class where diligence matters most, particularly in fast-growing African cities where title records can be contested. Before any purchase we verify title at the registry, check for competing claims, confirm zoning and servicing, and test feasibility against realistic construction costs and demand. A client intending to build in an East African capital recently abandoned a plot on our advice after our title search surfaced a competing claim; the second plot we sourced closed cleanly.
For clients who build, we stay engaged through the project: selecting architects and contractors through proper tender, coordinating permits with local counsel, and monitoring cost and programme against the plan. You receive independent monthly reporting on progress and spend, so the project is never a black box.
- Registry-level title verification and claim searches
- Zoning, servicing and access confirmation
- Feasibility studies with realistic cost and demand assumptions
- Architect and contractor tender management
- Permitting coordinated with licensed local counsel
- Monthly cost and programme monitoring during construction
Property Management & Staffing
A property portfolio only stays an asset if it is administered properly. We take over the running of residences and income property in full: planned maintenance, security arrangements, household staff recruitment and payroll, utilities, insurance renewals and compliance with local obligations. Staff are reference-checked and contracted properly, and vendors are procured competitively rather than by habit.
Everything is consolidated into a single monthly report per property or per portfolio: what was spent, what was fixed, what is scheduled, and any decision that needs you. Owners of homes they visit twice a year tell us the report is the difference between owning a residence and worrying about one.
- Planned and reactive maintenance management
- Household staff recruitment, contracts and payroll
- Security, utilities and insurance administration
- Competitive vendor procurement
- Local compliance and tax filing coordination
- One consolidated monthly report
Off-Market & Private Listings Access
The best properties in Paris, London, Dubai, New York and Cape Town frequently change hands without ever being advertised. Access to them comes from relationships, owners, family offices and senior agents, built over more than a decade of quiet, completed transactions. Because we buy repeatedly and close reliably, sellers bring us properties before they consider the open market.
The process is deliberately discreet on both sides. We approach owners without naming you, sign confidentiality undertakings where required, and verify price against comparable evidence since off-market does not mean off-value. The same channel works in reverse: clients who wish to sell significant property without publicity can do so through the same network.
- Direct relationships with owners, family offices and senior agents
- Approaches made without disclosing your identity
- Confidentiality undertakings on both sides
- Independent price verification against comparable sales
- Access in Paris, London, Dubai, New York, Cape Town and the African capitals
- Discreet disposal service for sellers
Who we serve and how to begin
We act for buyers, owners and occasionally sellers, never for both sides of the same transaction. Fees are agreed in writing before the search begins, typically as a retainer plus a completion fee, so our interest is aligned with closing the right property at the right price. Every mandate is led by a senior partner and served in English or French.
Initial consultation
A confidential conversation about the property you want, the markets in play and the realistic budget.
Scope and mandate letter
A written search or management mandate stating scope, fees and reporting, signed before work begins.
Dedicated partner team
A senior partner and a named team run the search, the transaction and, if you wish, the property afterwards.
Brief us on the property you want
Tell us the city, the purpose and the budget. A senior partner will come back to you within one business day with an honest view of the market.