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Growsmart’s top five learners in Literacy and Mathematics, and the top three learners in Story Writing for the Eastern Cape were announced at a prestigious prize-giving ceremony at the East London Convention Centre on 17 September 2022.

The Growsmart Educational Programme is a Corporate Social Initiative by Growthpoint Properties in collaboration with the Eastern Cape Education Department.

Growsmart’s vision is to empower young learners experiencing challenging circumstances to reach their full potential through opportunities for quality education with a positive impact on their future. It is an online and project-based inter-school/inter-grade competition in Literacy, Story Writing (creative writing), and Mathematics.

The finals were fiercely contested by 60 of the top grade 4, 5 and 6 learners from 22 schools across seven education districts in the Eastern Cape.

Finalists had to progress through the first three rounds of the fun, innovative competition. They began working in May 2022 to earn their place in the fourth and final stage.

They prepared for the various competitions by studying and completing the Growsmart content available for free on the Growsmart website, which includes electronic newspapers, interactive activity workbooks, and online preparation tutorials for learners and teachers.

The 25 finalists in the Literacy Competition were tested on their ability to correctly spell, define and use the words in a sentence, as well as on verbs, nouns, idioms and adjectives throughout the competition. The winners are:

1. Qandashe Onesimo: Fanti Gaqa Senior Primary School, Mdantsane, East London
2. Lelomso Mdluli: Fanti Gaqa Senior Primary School, Mdantsane, East London
3. Amila Rali: Joe Slovo Primary School, KwaDwesi, Gqeberha  
4. Zimi Tukani: Kude Kwalapha Lower Primary School, Cradock
5. Lenarsha Saku: Graaff Reinet Primary School, Graaf Reinet

Qandashe Onesimo’s achievement has won Fanti Gaqa Senior Primary School an iPad Lab valued at R350,000, supporting future learning and positive education outcomes.

In the Mathematics Competition, 25 finalists faced questions varying from BODMAS to problem-solving and mental mathematics. The winners are:

1. Lukas Biru: South Bourne Primary School, Komani, Queenstown
2. Kamva Sokoyi: Kude Kwalapha Lower Primary School, Cradock
3. Bonang Rayo: Nontuthuzelo Primary School, Gompo, East London
4. Lisolethu Sajini: Kude Kwalapha Lower Primary School, Cradock
5. Awothando Joy Ndabambi: South Bourne, Komani, Queenstown

The Story Writing Competition is project-based and mentor-led, where learners submit their own original written stories. The winners are:

1. Reshanique Jantjies: Kamdebo Primary, Saarah Baartman (Graaf Reinet)
2. Franco Napisi: Dalrose Primary, Uitenhage
3. Athena Caesar: Uitenhage Primary, Uitenhage

“This year was an extremely exciting one for Growsmart in the Eastern Cape as the competition was tougher than ever before with three new districts participating for the first time. This is a great result, and we are proud to have even greater positive impacts on young minds in the province. Congratulations to all the winning learners, mentors and schools, and to everyone who participated in the programme,” says Jewel Harris, founder of Growsmart and General Manager of Growthpoint Properties Cape Town.

Shawn Theunissen, Growthpoint Properties Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, adds, “We believe that a focus on education today will create lasting social transformation for generations to come. One way that Growthpoint supports and promotes access to quality education is through Growsmart. Over a dozen years, it has proven to be a fun, competitive and successful way to help improve educational outcomes at the primary school level with the aim of creating a more inclusive society in the long term.”

The Growsmart competition winners – learners and teachers – were rewarded with substantial prizes to support their future education. First, second and third-prize winners in each competition received educational material to the value of R20,000, R10,000 and R5,000, respectively. Correspondingly, their mentors were rewarded with a gift voucher from a Growthpoint Shopping Centre to the value of R10,000, R5,000 and R1,500.

All finalists were also given the opportunity and assistance to apply for a bursary through the Growsmart Bursary Programme. Since its inception, Growsmart and its partners have sponsored and assisted 25 alumni in reaching their educational goals in high school and tertiary institutions.

The Growsmart competition was first launched in the Western Cape in 2010 to boost primary school learners’ performance in literacy and mathematics. Based on its success, it expanded to the Eastern Cape in 2018 and has since expanded to Limpopo. In total, over 2,450 learners participated in the 2022 Growsmart programme.

 

Congratulations to all the Eastern Cape winners.

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Growsmart top five learners in Literacy and Mathematics, top three learners in Story Writing and teams in Entrepreneurship for the Western Cape were announced at a prestigious prize-giving ceremony at The Avenue Conference Venue, Two Oceans Aquarium in the V&A Waterfront on 10 September 2022.

The Growsmart Educational Programme is a Corporate Social Initiative by Growthpoint Properties in collaboration with the Western Cape Education Department.

Growsmart’s vision is to empower young learners experiencing challenging circumstances to reach their full potential through opportunities for quality education with a positive impact on their future. It is an online and project-based inter-school/inter-grade competition in Literacy, Story Writing (creative writing), Mathematics and Entrepreneurship.

The finals were fiercely contested by 81 of the top grade 4, 5 and 6 learners across all eight education districts in the Western Cape.

Finalists had to progress through the first three rounds of the competition, which began in May 2022, to earn their place in the fourth and final stage.

They prepared for the various competitions by studying and completing the Growsmart content available for free on the Growsmart website, which includes electronic newspapers, interactive activity workbooks, and online preparation tutorials for learners and teachers.

The 25 finalists in the Literacy Competition were chosen from 400 participants and tested on their ability to correctly spell, define and use the words in a sentence, as well as on verbs, nouns, idioms and adjectives throughout the competition. The winners are:

1. 1. Kaylin Hufke: Kalkfontein Primary School, Kuils River, Cape Town
2. Madison Davids: Highlands Primary School, Mitchell’s Plain, Cape Town
3. Azra Hendricks: Pelican Park Primary School, Grassy Park, Cape Town
4. Zohan van Niekerk: Hermeslaan Primary School, Atlantis, Cape Town
5. Yumna Mlima: Pelican Park Primary School, Grassy Park, Cape Town

As the winning Literacy learner, Kaylin Hufke has been invited to represent South Africa in the three-member junior African Spelling Bee South Africa Team to participate in the African Spelling Bee 2022 from 6 to 11 December in Blantyre, Malawi. Kaylin will be sponsored by Growsmart for this event.

Hufke’s achievement has also won Kalkfontein Primary School an iPad Lab valued at R350,000, supporting future learning and positive education outcomes.

In the Mathematics Competition, 25 finalists of the 405 registered participants faced questions varying from BODMAS to problem-solving and mental mathematics. The winners are:

1. Seanwin Christians: Dennemere Primary School, Blue Downs, Cape Town
2. Abdi Shakur Yusuf: Idas Valley Primary School, Stellenbosch, Cape Winelands
3. Steford van Kolver: Diazville Primary School, Saldanha, West Coast
4. Imaan Pillay: Pelican Park Primary School, Grassy Park, Cape Town
5. Chante van Rooi: William Lloyd Primary School, Paarl, Western Cape

The Story Writing Competition is project-based and mentor-led, where learners submit their own original written stories. Over 200 story books were submitted. The winners are:

1. 1. Fatimah Shabodien: Newfields Primary School, Athlone, Cape Town
2. Nirico Buys: Helderkruin Primary School, Blue Downs, Cape Town
3. Daiyaan Hendricks: Belmor Primary School, Philippi, Cape Town

Also project-based and mentor-led, the Entrepreneurship Competition assessed unique business ideas from teams of three learners to recognise profitable or exceptional business models. From the 25 creative business ideas submitted, seven reached the finals. The winners are:

1. Silverlea Primary School, Athlone, Cape Town
2. Dalweide Primary School, Paarl, Western Cape
3. Helderkruin Primary School, Blue Downs, Cape Town

“Congratulations to all our top learners, mentors and schools, and to everyone who participated in the programme this year in its online format, which is more relevant, fun and innovative than ever before,” says Jewel Harris, founder of Growsmart and General Manager of Growthpoint Properties Cape Town.

Growthpoint Properties Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Shawn Theunissen,  adds, “Education remains a priority in South Africa, and Growthpoint supports and promotes access to quality education. Investing for positive social impact across the entire education value chain as part of our corporate social responsibility not only changes lives today but for generations to come. The fun, competitive Growsmart educational programme is one of the most successful ways that we help to improve educational outcomes at the primary school level and create a more inclusive society in the long term.”

The Growsmart competition winners – learners and teachers – were rewarded with substantial prizes to support their future education. First, second and third-prize winners in each competition received educational material to the value of R20 000, R10 000 and R5 000, respectively. Correspondingly, their mentors were rewarded with a gift voucher from a Growthpoint Shopping Centre to the value of R10 000, R5 000 and R1 500.

All finalists were also given the opportunity and assistance to apply for a bursary through the Growsmart Bursary Programme. Since its inception, Growsmart and its partners have sponsored and assisted 25 alumni in reaching their educational goals in high school and tertiary institutions.

The Growsmart competition was first launched in the Western Cape in 2010 to boost primary school learners’ performance in literacy and mathematics. Based on its success, it has since expanded to the Eastern Cape and Limpopo. In total, over 2,450 learners participated in the 2022 Growsmart programme.

Congratulations to all the Western Cape winners.

 

 

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Emira Property Fund (JSE: EMI) has added greater shopper appeal and trading potential to two very different retail assets through major strategic leasing projects. For Emira, strategic leasing is definitely not a one-size-fits-all process.

Although strategic leasing is an ongoing process at Emira’s retail assets, two significant projects were recently completed projects for the large 91,000sqm regional Wonderpark Shopping Centre in Pretoria, Gauteng and the 17,300sqm Springfield Retail Centre in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.

“Although Springfield Retail Park and Wonderpark Shopping Centre are vastly different in size and market, they both meet Emira’s retail portfolio goals of offering South African consumers great convenience shopping experiences that are tailored to their specific shopper community,” says Ulana van Biljon, Emira COO.

Emira relaunched Springfield Retail Centre a year after the centre was damaged by arson in the widespread looting and devastation of July 2021.

Starting back on 12 July 2021, looters made their way into the centre and ransacked most of its stores. The mayhem culminated in an arson attack the next day, with fires starting at Mambo’s Plastics Warehouse and burning along a line of shops, including the centre’s electrical room.

The rebuilding, restoring and refreshing of the community-focused lifestyle centre began immediately, with the community coming out to help. Most of the centre was reinstated and trading within a few weeks of the damage occurring, and Emira had the maximum amount of SASRIA cover in place to adequately cover any damages and loss of trading.

Fortunately, only one wing of the centre had structural damage, and around 30% of Block A was cordoned off safely without affecting trade in the rest of the centre, including anchors Food Lovers’ Market, HiFi Corp and Baby City. While work continued on the fire-damaged section, a concerted communications effort let shoppers know the property was open and which stores were trading.

As part of reinstating the centre, Emira took the opportunity to refresh and refine its tenant mix and reconfigure space to improve the overall shopping experience.

“We considered general shopping trends, monitored consumer patterns in Springfield Retail Centre’s catchment area and observed the centre’s tenant performance in order to identify improvements for its offering and match them with the type of retailers that would work best for the refreshed centre and its shoppers,” explains van Biljon.

This included improving the centre’s tenant mix and reconfiguring an underutilised part of the property to create floor space for Coricraft’s new home and decor showroom. The Coricraft concept store opened in April this year, with a new layout and design unique to Springfield Retail Centre. Similarly, Ted’s Home Store also took the opportunity to upgrade its 1,000sqm-plus store at Springfield Retail Centre to create an all-new showroom, which opened in May 2022. The combined impact has created one of the strongest home and décor retail offerings in the region.

Finally, most of the restoration work has been completed and Springfield Retail Centre is already trading fully, including Westpack which openedat the end of August 2022. The open-air shopping experience has a refreshed array of tenants, from fashion and home furnishings to babies, tech and more.

The effectiveness of its strategic re-leasing is evident in the return of customers to Springfield Retail Centre, notwithstanding current economic pressures.

Emira applies its strategic leasing philosophy to all its shopping centres, constantly gathering data to keep track of macro and local market trends, analysing how different tenants are performing and considering this in relation to their position and adjacencies within a centre.

“Using these insights, we aim to place the best retailer into an optimally-sized store in the ideal location within a centre in order to benefit its customers, trading, neighbouring stores, the mall’s overall flow and its capacity to attract buying power,” says van Biljon.

She adds, “Signing a make-do lease to fill a vacancy without considering these factors is often a short-term and potentially very costly exercise. By emphasising what our customers want, our strategic leasing supports excellent trading densities for tenants and the good performance of our retail assets.”

By refreshing the retail mix of Wonderpark Shopping Centre, Emira was able to find ways to meet its customers’ latest needs in response to the emergence of quality and value as more important factors in their purchasing patterns. New tenants were added to the retail mix, while several existing tenants were relocated in the centre and right-sized. This included Clicks, Gelmar, The Bed Shop, Russells, The Hub, Mr Price Home, Fabiani, Code, Kingsmead Shoes, Ackerman’s Woman, Pep Cell and more.

The result: an increase in spend-per-head, positive turnover growth, better-than-industry footfall averages, and greater shopper cross-pollination. Put simply, the project has resulted in better trading for Wonderpark retailers and the centre, and it has attracted new tenants to this market.
Emira has total assets of R12.6bn, including 77 directly-held properties valued at R9.8bn in South Africa. A 17% portion of its total asset base is international, made up of equity investments in 12 grocery-anchored open-air convenience shopping centres in the USA.

Released by Emira Property Fund:
Geoff Jennett, CEO
Tel: 011 028 3115
Emira.co.za

Facebook @EmiraPropertyFund
LinkedIn @EmiraPropFund
Twitter @EmiraPropfund
Instagram @EmiraPropertyFund
YouTube at @EmiraPropertyFund

For more information or to book an interview, kindly contact Bronwen Noble on 082 855 4349 or 083 453 6668 or email bronwen@catchwords.co.za

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Growthpoint Properties Limited (JSE: GRT) delivered a 13.9% increase in SA REIT funds from operations (FFO) of R5.3bn and a 5.1% increase in distributable income per share (DIPS) of 155.6 cents for its financial year to 30 June 2022. Growthpoint’s total dividend per share (DPS) increased 8.4% to 128.4cps. Group property assets grew by 5.2% to R160.8bn.

 

Norbert Sasse, Group CEO of Growthpoint Properties, attributes this defensive performance to the rapid rebound of the V&A Waterfront and excellent performance from ASX-listed Growthpoint Properties Australia (GOZ), improved SA finance costs and steadily growing contributions from Growthpoint Investment Partners.

Sasse comments, “Growthpoint’s improved results show the resilience and stability of our business, and the benefits of diversification and quality earnings during yet another incredibly tough year.”

The Growthpoint share price remains significantly undervalued compared to its SA REIT net asset value of R21.58 per share, which grew by 6.7%

Growthpoint creates space to thrive with innovative and sustainable property solutions in environmentally friendly buildings while improving the social and material wellbeing of individuals and communities. It is an international property company invested in real estate across SA, Africa, Australia, Poland, Romania and the UK, and the largest SA primary listed REIT.

Growthpoint is a FTSE/JSE Top 40 Index company, a constituent of the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Emerging Index, and has a long-standing inclusion in the FTSE4Good Emerging Index and the FTSE/JSE Responsible Index.

During the year, Growthpoint continued to reinforce its liquidity and balance sheet strength to enhance its ability to achieve its three strategic thrusts of international expansion, South African portfolio optimisation and growing its new income streams from assets under management by Growthpoint Investment Partners.

It decreased its group SA REIT loan-to-value (LTV) from 40.0% to 37.9%. In line with its improved performance, Growthpoint adopted a higher 82.5% dividend payout ratio, retaining R935.0m before tax to fund capital expenditure and development and execute on its strategies while ensuring balance sheet strength. It ended the period with R1.5bn cash on the SA balance sheet and R10.3bn of unused SA committed debt facilities. This includes contingencies for the upcoming maturity of its USD Eurobond of R6.9bn in May 2023, which Growthpoint will be in a position to repay should debt capital markets in Europe not be conducive to refinancing.

Growthpoint’s international investments represent 43.5% of property assets by book value and 28.4% of earnings before interest and tax, and its newly amplified targets are 50% and 40% respectively. The hard currency dividend income from its international investments increased from R1.4bn to R1.5bn.

It owns 58 office and industrial properties in Australia valued at R58.8bn through a 62.2% shareholding in GOZ. Through a 29.4% investment in LSE AIM-listed Globalworth Real Estate Investments (GWI), Growthpoint owns an interest in 71 office and industrial properties valued at R53.5bn in Romania and Poland. Growthpoint’s effective share is R15.8bn. It also owns six community shopping centres in the UK valued at R8.5bn through a 60.8% investment in LSE- and JSE-listed UK REIT Capital & Regional (C&R).

GOZ’s dividend of AUD20.8cps increased 4% from the prior year of AUD20.0cps, translating to a dividend of R1.1bn versus R987m in FY21, while the effective withholding tax decreased from 10.2% to 9.9%. The Australian portfolio’s net tangible assets per share increased by 9.4% to AUD4.56 driven by leasing success, yield compression and rent growth across the portfolio. All portfolio metrics are excellent: it is 98.4% occupied by gross lettable area with quality tenants and achieved an 86.0% tenant retention rate.

Its balance sheet strength can be seen in its low gearing of 34.3% after acquiring four high-quality office assets for AUD426.6m, one of which transferred post FY22, and taking into account its agreed acquisition of Fortius Fund Management for an initial purchase price of AUD45m, which has added AUD1.9bn of third-party funds under management to GOZ. It will have AUD136.9m of undrawn debt lines after funding both post-balance sheet transactions.

“GOZ delivered its best performance yet for Growthpoint and remains a core investment. It is in a great position and has provided FY23 DPS guidance of AUD21.4 cps and FFO per share range of AUD25.0 to AUD26.0cps, which is a bit lower than the highs of this year,” says Sasse.

GWI delivered a stable, resilient performance despite the global challenges affecting its markets. While property values lifted slightly, distributions of EUR27cps decreased 10.0%. GWI repaid EUR323.0m to settle its inaugural bond while sustaining good liquidity and remaining moderately geared at 41%. It continued to focus capital on logistics facilities in Romania, acquiring its first small unit logistics facility of 7,100sqm and completing four developments of a combined 61,700sqm with a further two under development totalling 56,000sqm. In Poland, it is refurbishing two mixed-use properties of 74,800sqm. GWI achieved good letting, although its vacancy rate edged up marginally to 11.9%.

“GWI is firmly focused on maintaining its resilience, operating performance and financial position, with the war in Ukraine adding to global challenges and market uncertainty. We continue to seek solutions to our minority shareholding in this investment,” notes Sasse.

During the year Growthpoint increased its investment in C&R by R480.0m (£23.7m) as part of a £30m equity raise. Several strategic transactions reduced C&R’s LTV from 72% to 40%. During the year property valuations stabilised and footfalls increased by 58%. It delivered solid letting with 55 leases signed from January to June 2022 at a 34% premium to previous rentals. C&R resumed dividend payments for the six months to June 2022 of GBP2.5 pence per share, translating to a dividend of R50m for Growthpoint, which elected to take the dividend reinvestment alternative.

“C&R expects its next six-month dividend to be similar. It has a pipeline of transformational and accretive repositioning projects driving income and value growth. We continue to believe in this platform, its management and its ‘needs-based’ community retail strategy,” Sasse says.

Growthpoint owns and manages a diversified core portfolio of 387 retail, office, and industrial properties across SA valued at R62.7bn. With valuations stabilising in all sectors other than offices, this portfolio recorded a further 1.9% devaluation. It manages these assets to optimise their value over the long term but also seeks to sell non-core assets to recycle this capital with the aim of re-balancing the portfolio towards higher growth sectors and regions. It sold 37 non-strategic properties for R2.1bn during the period, making a profit on book value of R240.9m and taking the total of properties it has sold in SA to R9.7bn since 2017.

The industrial and retail sectors delivered improved performance. There are some signs of stabilisation in the office portfolio. Vacancies in the SA portfolio, including trading and development and Growthpoint Investment Partners’ healthcare and student accommodation funds, reduced from 11.6% to 10.3% with more than 1.4m sqm let during the year. The renewal success rate improved from 65.4% to 75.1% but came at the expense of rental growth and escalations, with negative reversions across all three sectors, though rental renewal rates improved by 2.1% from -14.9% to -12.8%. The Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal portfolios outperformed. Growthpoint collected 95%, or R187m, of all Covid-19 rental deferrals granted to tenants, and this year granted R17m of Covid-related discounts versus R198m last financial year. Arrears declined steadily across all sectors.

Vacancies in Growthpoint’s industrial portfolio improved from 9.4% to 5.7%, with particularly good letting in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal where vacancies are around 2.0%. Renewal success rates increased significantly, from 62.2% to 86.3%. Reflecting the positive metrics, industrial property values increased 1.8% and like-for-like net property income grew 3.7%. Taking advantage of the demand for industrial properties, 22 non-strategic property assets were disposed of during the year, and another 19 properties are at various stages of disposal.

Office vacancies levelled off, reducing from a 22.4% peak on 31 March 2022 to 20.7% at year end. More tenants are returning to offices with a hybrid working model and smaller users that previously gave up space are also returning. Renewal success improved from 52.5% to 58.0% in a market where tenants continue to consolidate and reduce space. Reflecting the weak economic environment, although both improved, office property values and like-for-like net property income decreased by 5.4% and 8.7% respectively. To shift Growthpoint’s office exposure to higher-performing regions, nine office properties were sold.

Retail portfolio vacancies improved to 4.7% excluding offices, with a slightly higher renewal success rate of 85.0% and increased letting activity from national retailers. Retailers continued to restructure their portfolios, right-size their spaces and rebase rentals. Reflecting a less stressed retail market, Growthpoint’s shopping centres saw an 8.6% increase in average trading density, driven by the recovery in regional malls as shoppers returned to larger format shopping centres and spent more on larger basket sizes. Turnover underpins retailer rental levels, but the full positive trading takes time to filter through. Retail property values increased 0.1% and like-for-like net property income decreased 3.9%.

Growthpoint’s multisector development prowess creates opportunities to generate profits and supports its disposal strategy by unlocking the best value from non-strategic assets. The contribution to distributable income from trading and development was somewhat down at R146.2m for the year. Growthpoint invested R1.1bn in development and capex in SA and has R654.0m of capital commitments.

Growthpoint strives for excellent environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. During the year it continued its solar energy drive, moving away from fossil-fuelled sources to using more renewable resources and supporting the continuity of power supply. Growthpoint’s SA portfolio has 13.2MW solar generation capacity and it has targeted 27.1MW by the end of FY23. It has 71 certified green buildings, which reduce carbon emissions, create energy and water efficiency, and lower tenant costs. Both of these focus areas support Growthpoint’s ambitious target to be carbon neutral by 2050.

This year, the Growthpoint Board of Directors approved its Ethics Strategy as well as its new Local Economic Development and Transformation (LED) policy for engaging with businesses in local communities where Growthpoint operates, further supporting its socioeconomic objectives. Growthpoint has a Level One B-BBEE rating. All Growthpoint’s policies align with International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards.

“We are steadily optimising our SA portfolio. Our SA business is well positioned with a strong balance sheet and good liquidity, and we are encouraged by the improvements in the industrial and retail portfolios. However, the performance of commercial real estate, and the office sector especially, correlates closely with SA’s economic health, which remains weak and is constraining our local growth prospects,” says Sasse.

Growthpoint’s 50% interest in the iconic V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, with its share of property assets valued at R9.0bn, improved its earnings significantly to deliver exceptional performance with a 52.0% increase in net property income. After being hard-hit by the Covid-19 travel bans and restrictions, international tourist arrivals at Cape Town International Airport had recovered to 75% of pre-pandemic levels by end-June 2022 and led to the V&A’s long-awaited rebound. Its visitor numbers were up 32.3% during the 12 months. They are currently 20% below pre-Covid levels, signifying more room for recovery. All V&A hotels are open are operating at 81% of pre-Covid occupancy levels with the Silo Hotel and Radisson Red exceeding these levels.

In the quarter to June 2022, retail sales at the V&A recovered to 14% above pre-Covid levels, with retail vacancies below 1% and good demand for space, although rental levels have reverted slightly. Marine and industrial properties were stable, and while the cruise season will only reopen in October 2022, income from the casual berthing of superyachts and yacht building increased 32%. Office vacancies remained at a low 1.8% underpinned by 60% blue-chip tenancies. In May 2021, construction commenced for a new multitenant 10,500sqm office building in the Canal District, anchored by Investec Bank in 7,700sqm and to be completed in the last quarter of 2023. With an area oversupply of residential stock to let, vacancies peaked at 30% and have now dropped to around 18%.

“All major sectors are enjoying low vacancies and strong demand at the V&A Waterfront. Its rebound is set to continue and we expect it to achieve higher than pre-Covid earnings in FY23,” says Sasse.

Growthpoint Investment Partners (formerly the funds management business), the capital-efficient alternative real estate co-investments platform, closed the financial year with R15.6bn of assets under management (AUM), surpassing its R15bn target which it aims to grow to R30bn by the end of FY27. In FY22, it contributed R67.2m in management fees and R181.5m in dividends to Growthpoint.

Growthpoint Investment Partners launched its third co-investment platform, Growthpoint Student Accommodation REIT, in December 2021 with seven assets of 4,979 beds valued at R2.2bn and a significant growth pipeline. Growthpoint has a 16.6% investment in SA’s first unlisted purpose-built student accommodation REIT, which has raised R1.4bn in equity, including Growthpoint’s co-investment of R240.0m. It earned Growthpoint distributions of R16.7m and asset management fees of R14.5m.

In FY22, Growthpoint Healthcare REIT concluded a USD80m equity and convertible debt package with IFC to finance growth opportunities. It has raised over R1.3bn of third-party funding. Growthpoint has a 55.9% shareholding. SA’s first unlisted healthcare REIT has a R3.4bn portfolio of seven assets and a R4.5bn pipeline of acquisitions and developments. It acquired the specialist Cintocare Hospital in Pretoria and agreed, subject to prerequisite conditions, to acquire a 50% undivided share in its first healthcare warehousing and distribution asset, the 22,455sqm facility in Midrand on a long lease to Adcock Ingram. Growthpoint Healthcare REIT delivered 7.5% DPS growth, and Growthpoint received R142.5m in distributions and R41.2m in property and asset management fees.

Lango Real Estate has a USD613.0m portfolio of prime office and retail assets in Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia, and land in Angola. Lango has raised some USD320m third-party funding to date, including Growthpoint’s 16.3% shareholding, and is in advanced discussion with potential investors to raise additional capital that it intends to use mainly to acquire a pipeline of assets, particularly in Nairobi, Kenya, as well as to reduce debt. Growthpoint received R22.3m in distributions and R11.5m in fees.

“Growthpoint Investment Partners is strategic for our immediate growth of assets under management rather than assets on the balance sheet. We intend to increase the scale of our three investment platforms and seek meaningful new co-investment opportunities that are distinct from Growthpoint’s core assets in the retail, office and industrial sectors,” says Sasse.

Growthpoint’s diversified portfolio, strong balance sheet and stable hard currency dividend income streams position the company defensively for FY23. However, given the high level of uncertainty in the local and global macroeconomic environment, coupled with rising interest rates and inflation, it expects muted distributable income per share growth for FY23.

“Growthpoint is robust and ready for the challenges that lie ahead. We have a defensive, diversified business with the great strengths of skilled people and a strong balance sheet. This gives us cause for optimism about our prospects. We remain committed to creating and conserving value for all our stakeholders,” says Sasse.

For the full results presentation, click here

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Award‐winning REIT resumes dividend payments and reports strong performance in terms of occupancy and collections

• Dividends resumed with 50.0 cents per share declared for the financial year
• Distributable income per share increased by 34.2% to 62.8 cents
• Trading profit of 9.7 cents per share on the sale of sectional title units (excluded from distributable income)
• Net asset value per share increased by 11.0% to R17.49
• Gearing and interest cover improved from 43.3% to 37.2% and 1.41 times to 1.58 times, respectively
• Occupancy and collection rates remain high at 92.1% and 97.8% respectively
• Growth in weighted average trading density over 12 months of 12.6%
• Completed Waterfall City developments of R997.6 million totalling 47 623m² of GLA
• Power Purchase Agreement for 15MWp concluded

Tuesday, 13 September 2022. Attacq Limited (“Attacq”), the JSE-listed REIT developing Waterfall City, today announced a pleasing set of financial results for the full-year ended 30 June 2022. The Group performed well against all key metrics, most notably the resumption of dividends of 50.0 cents per share, representing a pay-out ratio of 80%, as well as an increase in distributable income per share by 34.2% to 62.8 cents.

The Group’s performance was particularly satisfying in the context of South Africa’s record unemployment levels and low-growth environment, and emphasised the underlying quality of the portfolio, characterised by continued growth in the burgeoning mixed-use Waterfall City precinct, which continues to attract quality local and global blue-chip corporate clients.

Attacq CEO Jackie van Niekerk says: “During the past year, we emerged from COVID-19 with an improved company culture and capital structure. Our focus is now on new opportunities, mainly through the implementation of our environmental plan, in support of sustainable growth within our portfolio and delivery of the company’s purpose and vision.

A key ingredient of success has been formulating and executing our ‘hub’ strategy, which focuses on creating segmented retail-experience, collaboration and logistics hubs that are smart, safe and sustainable.”

Further highlights include concluding an amended lease agreement on the Cell C collaboration hub space, subject to the completion of Cell C’s recapitalisation, of (24 955m2), whereby the warehouse component of the Cell C campus (14 014m2) was re-let at market-related rentals for a period of three years.

Attacq continues to secure a quality rental income stream as demonstrated by the high proportion of international commercial clients with several global blue-chip corporates including Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Pfizer and Ericsson moving to Waterfall City during the year. Space utilisation at Waterfall City and Lynnwood Bridge precinct, our largest collaboration hubs, continues to increase as businesses return to the workplace.

Active capital allocation and balance sheet management

Commenting on the balance sheet and capital allocation, Attacq CFO Raj Nana adds “During FY22, Attacq successfully de-geared its balance sheet, completed a number of developments and grew its distributable income. In addition, lower interest costs, higher rental collections and the receipt of a dividend from the investment in MAS have contributed to an increase in total distributable income per share of 34.2%.”

The Group’s interest-bearing borrowings reduced by 18.7% while its net asset value per share grew by 11.0% to R17.49 (2021: R15.75 per share).

A cautious, but encouraging outlook – investors and clients seek quality

At a macro level, there are a number of headwinds including poor business confidence, high unemployment, rising inflation and interest rates which are likely to restrict economic growth. Notwithstanding these headwinds, the portfolio is expected to continue to generate income growth, coupled with improved funding and liquidity positions, given the improved capital structure.

Attacq’s resilient portfolio is diversified by geography, sector and asset class, and, with its exposure to defensive, high-quality retail and residential, and complemented by premium-grade office developments, is well-positioned to grow further as consumers and businesses seek quality and convenience in their work, home and play destinations.

In line with this, Attacq’s decision to discontinue its plans for The Mix residential development and redouble its efforts on additional phases of the Group’s flagship Ellipse Waterfall development has borne fruit. To date, Ellipse has to date achieved more than R1 billion in sales since its launch in July 2021 and has already seen its first residents move into the residential mixed-use hub.