• Luxury developer: reckless borrowing nearly destroyed promising businesses
•Firm spent N126m monthly overhead for three years without a single sale
•Ogundele: some loans carried effective costs of up to 100%
Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
Sujimoto Holdings said it had repaid more than N40 billion owed to banks and private lenders. It pledged to clear all legitimate outstanding obligations by January 1, 2027, following a prolonged financial crisis in Nigeria’s luxury real estate sector.
Founder and Group Managing Director of the company, Dr. Sijibomi Ogundele, disclosed the repayment yesterday while reflecting on the company’s difficult 14-month journey.
Ogundele said the development exposed the dangers of excessive borrowing amid weakening purchasing power, inflation, soaring construction costs, currency volatility, and depressed demand.
In a statement, Ogundele said the experience had fundamentally changed his approach to debt, liquidity, and risk management, warning businesses against borrowing without adequate safeguards against changing economic conditions.
He said, “Debt is not the problem; excessive borrowing is. Over the last 14 months, I have learnt the hard way that reckless borrowing can destroy even the most promising businesses.”
According to him, Sujimoto endured almost three years without selling a single unit while sustaining monthly overheads of about N126 million and operational commitments exceeding N500 million.
He said the company was subsequently compelled to raise funds from commercial banks, private lenders, friends, family members, and other individuals to retain employees, meet supplier obligations, and continue construction projects.
Ogundele said some of the borrowing facilities eventually carried effective costs of as much as 100 per cent, further worsening the company’s cash-flow challenges.
He stated, “We borrowed because we believed sales would return. We had hundreds of employees and suppliers who depended on us, projects that had to be completed, and clients whose investments we were responsible for protecting.”
Despite the financial strain, the businessman said Sujimoto had so far repaid more than N40 billion to banks and private lenders.
He acknowledged that some obligations remained outstanding, assuring creditors with legitimate claims that the company would honour its commitments.
“We acknowledge our obligations, we appreciate your patience, and we remain unequivocally committed to paying every legitimate debt,” Ogundele said.
He expressed confidence that the company would repay all outstanding debts and become completely debt-free by January 1, 2027.
“By the grace of God, we will repay every outstanding debt and obligation,” he said, adding, “We borrowed. We built. We delivered. And we will rise stronger.”
Ogundele cited the completion and handover of the company’s Lucrezia development, with homeowners now taking possession of their apartments, as evidence of the company’s determination to fulfil commitments despite the financial difficulties.
He said, “Behind every apartment was a client who trusted us, behind every supplier was a business and a family, and behind every employee was a livelihood. We had to keep going.”
The Sujimoto founder said the experience would also shape the financing strategy for the company’s proposed 69-storey Leonardo luxury residential development.
According to him, future expansion will be anchored on stronger financial discipline, sustainable capital structures, and strategic partnerships rather than aggressive borrowing.
“Ambition must be matched by financial discipline. Growth without sustainability is not growth,” he said.
Reflecting on the crisis, Ogundele described the past 14 months as one of the most difficult periods of his entrepreneurial career, but said the experience had forced him to reassess his assumptions about debt, liquidity, and business risk.
He stated, “Pain is a gift. Difficulty forces you to confront your mistakes, rethink your assumptions and become a better entrepreneur.”
He thanked the company’s lenders, clients, employees, suppliers, and other stakeholders for their patience and support.
Ogundele said the immediate priority was to rebuild liquidity, complete ongoing projects, and systematically settle remaining creditors.
“By January 1, 2027, our ambition is to enter a new chapter, stronger, wiser and debt-free,” Ogundele said.