High Energy Costs, Financing Pressures Weighing On Nigeria’s Hospitality Sector — Expert

The group managing director and chief executive officer of Haldane McCall Plc, Dr Edward Akinlade has said Nigeria’s hospitality industry is under pressure from high energy costs, expensive financing, weak consumer spending and infrastructure gaps.

Akinlade said the same structural challenges limiting growth in real estate are also constraining hospitality operators’ ability to scale and remain profitable.

“The challenges are significant and interconnected. High energy costs, expensive financing, weaker consumer spending and infrastructure constraints are affecting profitability in the hospitality industry,” Akinlade said.

The Haldane McCall CEO called for targeted government incentives, improved tourism infrastructure, better transportation and security, and reduced regulatory and tax burdens to make the sector more attractive to investors.

He added that Nigeria also needs lower-cost financing, better infrastructure and simpler land and tax policies to unlock investment across both real estate and hospitality.

Akinlade urged government to expand roads, electricity and water infrastructure and to strengthen public-private partnerships to enable developers to build at scale.

According to him, high construction and operating costs, elevated interest rates, and land administration bottlenecks are limiting developers’ ability to expand housing supply and attract private capital in real estate.

He said improved access to long-term financing, faster land-title registration and greater policy stability, particularly in taxation and planning regulations, are critical to unlocking growth.

On company strategy, Akinlade said Haldane McCall is focused on expanding its development pipeline while maintaining shareholder returns.

“Haldane McCall also paid its 2025 dividend in fulfillment of a commitment made before the company’s listing.

“Our objective is to create a healthy balance between immediate value distribution and reinvestment in projects that can generate future revenue and profitability,” Akinlade said.

He added that the company will focus on scaling its project pipeline, pursuing strategic partnerships and maintaining disciplined capital allocation as it seeks to build a more diversified and consistently value-creating real estate group.