Bartholomew Egbochie is the CEO of ATCO Homes, a fast-rising Nigerian real estate company. Egbochie’s testimonials reveal exceptional integrity, strong accomplishments and a widening impact footprint. From selling recharge cards as an undergraduate to building a thriving oil and gas services firm, further transitioning into running one of Nigeria’s fastest-growing real estate companies, the man’s vision has no limits. He was recently appointed a United Nations Ambassador, besides being recognised at the Nigerian Business Leadership Awards (NBLA). To further underline its strong industry profile, his real estate firm was recognised at the International Property Awards (IPA). Customer feedback reveals Egbochie is head and shoulders above many local CEOs. In this interview, he spoke about his life journey and business accomplishments.
Q. You have come a long way in business, considering your strong achievements. Tell us about your business journey and the key milestones.
A. My first business venture was running a phone booth. It started this way: While we were growing up, my elder brother used to own a small phone booth business. He asked me to run the booth while he was away at school. The assignment sparked my desire to build a business. I felt I could make a living by solving people’s problems.
So armed with the experience of running my brother’s phone booth business and watching my dad run a distributorship, I decided to set up a phone booth business as soon as I gained admission to study Mathematics at Ambrose Alli University in Ekpoma.
Of course, it was the era when the new telecoms companies were penetrating Nigeria, and students would troop to my booth to make calls. I also sold recharge cards.
Well, as more phone call centres sprang up on campus and mobile phones became more accessible to students, sales dived. It was then that I decided to venture into selling cement. This is because new houses were springing up in town. I sensed people would demand more cement supply to meet the expanding needs.
Q. What did you learn from those early entrepreneurial experiences?
Those early experiences taught me how to balance my priorities – like balancing academic workloads with business efforts, scaling and diversifying where necessary, as well as nurturing a rewarding customer base by building a reputation for integrity and value delivery.
I am not done yet with my early entrepreneurial experience. Later, I met new friends with whom I shared similar entrepreneurial ideals. We struck a partnership and moved into dredging. We successfully pooled funds. Next, we brokered deals with the local communities to dredge viable areas.
Some years later, I formed my first proper business by the name of Reigns Lomre Marine Limited. Through this new enterprise, I expanded into construction, leasing, and the supply of heavy-duty equipment. I was the ‘go-to guy’ for any form of supplies. I meant I could travel around the world in 5 days to get you anything you wanted. I was that resourceful.
Q. ATCO Homes, your real estate company, is gaining wider recognition as evidenced by the level of local and global accolades garnered recently. What motivated you to venture into the sector?
It is an interesting one. The housing gap in Nigeria and crossing paths with my wife played a humongous role in my real estate sector entry. When I moved to Lagos, one of our evening gists with my wife led to a conversation that precipitated my interest in real estate, which ultimately catapulted the exploration of my leasing experience in construction as barter trade in exchange for plots of land. That was a pivotal moment, and thereafter, ATCO Homes was born.
Yes, I have had to research the real estate sector deeply ever since my wife and I had that life-changing conversation. Seeing the housing gap and how the government would need ample private investments to meet its housing targets, I doubled down on the opportunity to help the government achieve its goals.
I have been able to help investors tap into a rewarding real estate investment model while creating opportunities for middle-class people to own a home via uniquely structured instalment payment plans tailored to individuals. We are also providing jobs for a segment of the population.
A commitment to excellence, hard work, and integrity is the hallmark of my life. I sense. I serve. I satisfy my clients. I have that model well drilled into my perception of what a business should look like.
Q. Tell us more about ATCO Homes and its growth story.
A. At ATCO Homes, we are unique and passionate about the way we contribute to the lives of our clients. Our consistent growth boils down to our focus and achievements. We have successfully built a value delivery system that enhances the commercial real estate market. Testimonials of investors who do business with us have also been impressive. We have had customers tell us through various feedback loops that our way of conducting business provides them with the utmost peace of mind. They tell us that our business engagement processes are transparent, and allocation is satisfactorily conducted. We have been able to come that far because of our integrated service lines of brokerage, property management, construction and investments, and how we always ensure our team of professionals delivers a complete start-to-finish result to our tenants, owners and investors. We are TIGHT and we pride ourselves on providing best-in-class service and support to our customers, our communities and the people who power them. The acronym TIGHT stands for trust, integrity, growth, humility and teamwork; we pride ourselves on guiding principles that keep driving us to offer professional services that add value and peace of mind for clients. We keep exceeding the expectations of our clients. In summary, we are making the dream of owning property a reality. Our recognition at the International Property Awards (IPA) in 2023 underscores the strength of our organisational culture and the excellence of our business practices.
Q. Most of your estates are located in the fast-growing Ibeju Lekki area of Lagos. What is the rationale behind this concentrated location?
A. We currently have thirteen (13) estates in our portfolio. They are Blue Pentagon Estate, Angle Blue Estate, Milton Estate, Brampton Lake, Oakville Garden, Cloud View Estate, Dove Estate, Nation’s View Estate, Blue Beryl Estate, Blue Ocean Estate, Bliss Vale Estate Phase 1, and Bliss Vale Estate Phase 2. These estates are located across the Lekki and Ibeju-Lekki axis, which has been tagged ‘the new Lagos’. It is also Lagos State’s latest investment hub. We are still expanding our footprint in that area. Because of the attractiveness of the location, our clients often see a 60% to 65% annual return on investment. The drivers of this upscale real estate investment advantage include the Dangote refinery, the seaport, the Lagos state jetty, the different beaches that are scattered around the area, the proposed International Airport to be located within the hub and the planned 4th Mainland Bridge that will further widen access to the area.
Q. What does the future hold for the real estate sector in Nigeria?
A. Real estate services grew by 46.52 per cent in Q3 of 2024, contributing 5.43 per cent to real GDP in the same period while ranking as the 3rd highest contributor to the economy. Considering these numbers, population growth prospects, and the continued movement of people from rural to urban areas, in addition to the demand for new infrastructure to meet the growth demands, I am optimistic that the real estate sector will continue to witness growth.
