The people on the cornerstone.
Every name on this page is contractually engaged. We do not list people we have not engaged. We do not name suppliers we have not contracted.
The team
Five names, one accountability line.
Over half the founding team has African heritage. This is not a Danish company operating in Kenya. It is a team that exists at the intersection of both traditions, building homes that reflect both, for a market that values both. Architecture, delivery, design operations, site engineering, and communications — held by named individuals, not by departments. Portrait photography is staged after marketing release; until then, each person is shown as a typographic monogram.
- ESPortrait to follow
Founder & Managing Director
Erik Søndergaard
Danish-Kenyan. Civil-engineering training at DTU (Technical University of Denmark); MBA from Wharton (executive). Nineteen years in residential development across Copenhagen and Nairobi; previously development director at a leading Nairobi residential developer. Founded DEMAR in 2022 to close the gap between premium price and premium delivery in this market.
- LHMPortrait to follow
Principal Architect
Lars-Henrik Mortensen
Trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts School of Architecture (KADK). Nine years at Mortensen+Holm Studio in Copenhagen before founding the DEMAR design studio in Nairobi in 2019. Lead architect on every drawing of The Dagaz — from concept through construction documents — and the person who walks the site every week with the foreman.
- ALPortrait to follow
Director of Design Operations
Annika Lindgren
Danish. Eleven years as project lead at a Copenhagen interior architecture practice before joining DEMAR. Owns specification, joinery, and finish quality across every residence. Based in Nairobi. The person who signs off the kitchen drawings before they are released to the trade.
- DKPortrait to follow
Marketing & Communications Lead
Dennis Kristensen
Danish heritage, Dubai-based. Twelve years across brand and growth in design-led B2C; previously growth lead at a Copenhagen wellness brand and brand director at a Dubai hospitality group. Leads marketing, communications, and PR for DEMAR — the public surface of every promise this company makes.
- JKOPortrait to follow
Site Engineer
Joseph K. Otieno, MICE
Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Fourteen years on Nairobi commercial and residential construction sites. Appointed site engineer for The Dagaz from Q1 2025. The named signatory on the weekly site-progress record and the engineer accountable for tolerance compliance on the ground.
Engaged partners
The named third parties we are accountable to.
Each firm below is contractually engaged on The Dagaz. None of them are subsidiaries of DEMAR. Each is named because each has signed the engagement that lets us name them.
CMA-licensed escrow trustee
Stanmore Trust Kenya Limited
Holds buyer deposits and equity instalments under a Capital Markets Authority of Kenya licence. Releases funds against construction milestones only after independent counter-signature. No payments are routed through a developer-controlled bank account.
Independent project quantity surveyor
Knight Mwangi Quantity Surveyors
Counter-signs every escrow milestone draw before funds release. Independent of DEMAR; engaged directly under the SPV. The firm whose signature stands between a milestone certificate and the trustee's payment instruction.
Independent audit firm
Bowman Adair Kenya
Engaged to perform the annual statutory audit of the SPV. Engagement is held by the investor syndicate, not by DEMAR. Audited financials are issued to investors on the standard reporting cycle.
IFC EDGE registered auditor
GEcon Africa
Registered EDGE auditor responsible for verifying energy, water, and embodied-carbon performance against EDGE Advanced thresholds. Engaged by the certification body, not by DEMAR. Findings are published in full at handover.
Residential property management partner
Westgate Living Management
Engaged on a ten-year service-level agreement covering concierge, maintenance, defects coordination, and a published response-time matrix. The operator residents will deal with after handover, named before handover.
Buyer deposit insurance + Contractors All Risks cover
Riverside Indemnity Kenya
Underwrites buyer deposit indemnity alongside the escrow structure, and carries the Contractors All Risks policy across the construction period. The second line of defence behind the trustee.
SPV legal counsel
Otieno & Patel Advocates LLP
Drafts and counter-signs the sale and reservation agreements, the SPV constitutional documents, and the partner engagement letters. Independent legal advice for buyers is encouraged and supported.
Capital advisory
Ström Partners (Copenhagen)
Advises the founders on equity structuring, investor onboarding, and the SPV capital stack. The bridge between the Danish capital base and the Nairobi project entity.
The brand promise
Kenya is for Kenyans. We are humble guests and grateful partners. Every name on this page is contractually engaged. We do not list people we have not engaged. We do not name suppliers we have not contracted. The page is shorter than it could be — on purpose.
Meet the architect, on a private call.
Reservers and serious enquirers are introduced to Lars-Henrik personally — by video, or in Nairobi at the sales gallery in Westlands.