AS part of  moves to reposition and be a major player in real estate financingm, Consolidated Estates Building Society Limited, TMC Savings & loans Limited and Mutual Alliance Savings are working on a merger of the two institutions.
Mr. Andy Wabali managing director of Consolidated Estates and Building Society, who disclosed the merger talk said in a statement that the three organisations are coming together to form a formidable primary mortgage institution in the country.
He noted that the government housing policy at all level will only remain pipe-dream as long as there are no strong primary mortgage institutions in the country that can provide access to cheap fund for Nigerians to own their own homes.
According to him, “The prevailing interest rates on mortgages by conventional banks are not what any ordinary civil servant or any working class person can take without adverse effects on their standard of living when it comes to repayment. The tenure of such facilities are so short that people go through undue pressure to repay. Our role as primary mortgage institution is to bridge this gap and provide cheaper fund and long tenure for repayment as it is obtainable in other parts of the world.”
He explained that the three organisations working together to leverage on their comparative advantages to provide exceptional services to customers through products development that will cater for the needs of every segment of the society both for the low-income and high-income earners.  Wabali revealed that the merger talks will be consummated before the end of first quarter of the year as talks have reached advanced stage, adding that due diligence on the companies have commenced.
MDS to Build N3bn Distribution Hub
MDS Logistics, a division of UAC of Nigeria Plc, has unveiled plans to build a N3 billion national distribution hub before the end of the second quarter of 2011.
Mr. Solomon Aigbavboa, The Divisional Managing Director, told reporters at the weekend that the hub to be located along Lagos/Ibadan Expressway would be in three phases and is expected to service various distribution centres around the country. 
He said that the project is part of the company’s plans to meet up with expected target and satisfy its numerous customers around the country.
According to him, MDS takes the burden of redistribution off its customers and handles it with ease while the clients focus on core business areas.
He said that the company provides a unique bouquet of logistics solutions in the Nigerian environment. “Our operations cut across three major supply chain service segments that is, warehousing, transport and freight and redistribution”.
Addressing female students from the University of Lagos at his Oregun office in Lagos, visiting under an initiative of the South African High Commission, Aigbavboa listed some of its range of services to include general and dedicated warehousing; customised and off- site warehousing; inventory management; sales administration; distribution and information management as well as credit control administration.
Aigbavboa lamented the state of Nigerian roads, remained one of the company’s greatest challenges.  “Our roads are almost becoming unbearable. Apart from the poor state of the roads, we also have the problem of both legal and illegal roadblocks.  We are usually forced to pay more than necessary in all the illegal check points”.
To surmount these challenges, he called for a joint effort between the private sector and the government.  “Government should regulate both legal and illegal multiple taxes and the private sector should engage in training and retraining of its employees to enable them contribute significantly to he growth of the company”, he added.
He disclosed that MDS Logistics has an impressive network of 58 distribution centres in 31 out of Nigeria’s 36 states in its quest to give quick and prompt service to its customers. He added that the company’s transport and freight are reputed to be safe, reliable and on time. We are able to offer and deliver haulage services that ensure the safety and integrity of customers stocks.