•As figures point northwards
By Maduka Nweke
After reeling from a challenged past, the Chief Executive Officer of UPDC, Mr. Odunayo Ojo, has assured the company’s various publics that efforts put in place to revert the results of the downturn and recession that followed the 2015 election are now yielding positive dividends.
The results show a consistent improvement from what it started since the 2015 recession, increase in exchange rates, the micro-economic environment till 2019 through the COVID-19.
According to Ojo, the change of management, takeover by Custodian Investment Group and injection of proactive ideas from vibrant management team have helped the figures northwards. He said that the company has also put in more estates that are increasing the bottomline benefits. Enumerating the importance of housing in any economy, he said, “We are increasing in more estates and making efforts to accommodate the middle income earners of the public.
“In 2020 UPDC was acquired by Custodian Investment Group and since then, the Company has continued to witness the reversal of the downturn as the figures are showing critical improvements. 2022 in the life of the company was a challenging one. The COVID-19 dealt blow to the company.
“The Russia-Ukrain war also hit the company. In the 2023, we feel we shall have to contribute our quota to the development of the economy which was formerly owned by UAC. In the efforts to improve the numbers, we count the KPMG Tower, the FESTIVAL MALL which is second to Eko Hotels as the largest hotel in Lagos including over 35 other estates as efforts of the company. We are also involved in development management. We engage our clients, we are also in facility management and in hospitality. We build to make the public satisfied and give them value for their money,” he said.
“We have a retinue of experienced experts in the management and executive levels. Our building materials are all imported and because of the increase in dollar that effected the Nigeria, the company was also affected in various ways. We had review of operations last year to evaluate our activities. The event was well attended and it engendered profitability.
“During the Pandemic, every Hotel was shut down including this Festival Hotel. But after some times exactly last year, we decided to open up the hotel for business. We intend to make the marketing convenience to the public. We have gender sensitivity in our operations because we have female senior executive members. “The company has done well in the financial performance index. The company from 2018 moved downwards till 2021. But it started improving to the extend that in 2022, it reached the climax it is today. We hope that with what we have today, the future is bright. We have seen that this year will not be an easy year.
“It seems, it is going to be another challenging year but we are not loosing sight that it is an election year. Unemployment is increasing, buildings are still collapsing. But UPDC has come to see how we will continue to grow. We need to grow because a lot of the various public will be effected in the increase in value of our business.
“The public needs affordable housing and we want to dwell more on middle income housing. We intend to partner with Pensions Administrators for our business upgrade. The company invites everyone to patronize them and see how in collaboration, the growth being expected will come. UPDC wants to be in the forefront of technology driven process in the business landscape of the country. We want to sustain this by continuing with our core competencies to get the public back to the company,”he concluded.