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Fairvest Limited

REITs shine in Sunday Times Top 100 Companies

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REITs shine in Sunday Times Top 100 Companies as sector momentum builds

Signalling a powerful comeback for the investment class, REITs Dipula, Fairvest and Vukile place in the top five

South Africa’s real estate investment trust (REIT) sector has capped a strong year with significant recognition in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies 2025 announced on 9 November. Dipula Properties took the overall top spot, Fairvest ranked second and Vukile Property Fund placed fifth, confirming three REITs in the top five and broad strength across all listed property.

Joanne Solomon, Chief Executive Officer of the SA REIT Association, says the recognition reflects improving fundamentals across the sector. “Seeing REITs lead the Top 100 this year highlights disciplined capital allocation, stronger balance sheets and consistent dividend delivery. Investors are recognising the sector’s renewed earnings trajectory and the important role REITs play in diversified portfolios.”

This strong showing comes in a year of improving market performance. The October SA REIT Chart Book recorded a 10.8% monthly total return for the SA REIT Index, the strongest monthly gain since 2021, taking year to date performance of the sector to 26.4% up until 31 October 2025. Liquidity improved across the board with several high-quality portfolios accessing equity at prices closer to reported net asset value which signals a healthier cost of capital. Ian Anderson, compiler of the Chart Book and Head of Listed Property at Merchant West Investments, notes that October marked a turning point as investors rotated back into REITs at scale.

The Top 100 Companies in context

The Sunday Times Top 100 Companies ranks JSE listed companies by compound annual growth rate over a five-year period on a theoretical R10 000 investment with dividends reinvested. The analysis adjusts for corporate actions such as dividends, capitalisations, unbundling, share splits and consolidations. Companies must meet minimum size and liquidity thresholds and be active on the JSE throughout the measurement window. The 2025 results were compiled from market data, verified independently and published as a special Sunday Times supplement.

REIT company perspectives

Dipula Properties, the overall 2025 winner, marked its 20th anniversary with a refreshed brand and continued focus on community and convenience retail. In the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies special supplement, CEO Izak Petersen says, “The past 20 years have been an incredible journey filled with lessons, challenges and growth. We’ve played the cards we were dealt with resilience and determination, consistently delivering sustainable returns to our shareholders.” He adds, “We invest in retail properties that enhance community wellbeing by providing well located trading spaces and convenient access for shoppers. Our portfolio includes defensive retail centres in urban, township and rural areas across South Africa that are tailored to meet local needs and offer essential goods and services.”

Fairvest, ranked second, has been rewarded for its transformation into a retail-only REIT. CEO Darren Wilder remarks in the Sunday Times supplement, that the company is disposing of non-core assets and reinvesting in retail-focused properties. “By implementing this strategy, Fairvest is moving toward becoming a retail-only REIT, focused on the market in which it has extensive experience. The management team will continue to implement this strategy, with minimal to no value destruction. Over 70% of revenue is already generated from Fairvest’s retail portfolio,” he says.

Vukile Property Fund, fifth in the Top 100, highlighted the benefits of a clear strategy and selective offshore growth. CEO Laurence Rapp says in the supplement, “We’ve stayed true to a well-defined strategy and executed it with discipline. We specialise in retail, and we do so with deep operational intent. That means understanding the consumer, designing centres that are tailor made to their needs and align with tenant success. Growing affinity with shoppers grows value for tenants and grows earnings for shareholders.” On the group’s Iberian expansion he notes, “Our entries into Spain and then Portugal were contrarian and demonstrate how our ability to see opportunity ahead of the market and to act with entrepreneurial yet disciplined dealmaking has been key to scaling the business.”

Wider sector representation

Beyond the top five, REITs and other listed property companies were well represented across the rankings, including Fortress Real Estate Investments, SA Corporate Real Estate, Attacq, Hyprop Investments, Emira Property Fund, Redefine Properties, NEPI Rockcastle, Resilient REIT, MAS, Stor-Age Property REIT, Sirius Real Estate, Growthpoint Properties, Burstone Group and Equites Property Fund, among others. This breadth reflects a property sector that has streamlined portfolios, recycled capital into high-confidence properties and rebuilt investor conviction through consistent distribution guidance.

Solomon says, “REITs have responded to a tough cycle with portfolio optimisation and prudent funding. The sector is now positioned to deliver income growth ahead of inflation with improving access to capital. The Sunday Times recognition underscores that progress and the operational resilience that supports it.”

SA REIT Chart Book and conference

The latest SA REIT Chart Book provides monthly sector performance, valuation, yield and capital markets intelligence for investors and media. The October 2025 edition was released on 6 November 2025 and can be accessed here.

The SA REIT Conference 2026, proudly sponsored by Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking’s Property Finance division, takes place on 12 February 2026 at The Houghton Hotel, Johannesburg, with a keynote by Peter Verwer, Executive Chairman of Futurefy. Register here.

Fairvest leads the REIT sector into digital infrastructure

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Fairvest leads the REIT sector into digital infrastructure, enhancing its traditional retail property assets

Fairvest Limited announced more details of its R486 million strategic investment in Onepath Investments, an owner of digital infrastructure assets. Fairvest intends to utilise this investment to enhance its traditional retail properties synergistically, underscoring its credentials as an innovator and incubator for emerging property trends.

 Fairvest CEO, Darren Wilder, said: “Globally, the returns from digital assets underpin some of the best-performing REITs, benefiting from growing structural demand that is not tied to economic cycles. In addition to attractive direct returns, Fairvest’s investment provides us with opportunities to enhance the lives of communities surrounding our retail centres, opens up new areas for expansion, and allows us to engage more deeply with communities, collect data, improve our marketing efforts, and drive foot traffic to our centres.”

South Africa continues to experience an enormous increase in demand for reliable and fast internet. Fibre is the best technology for consumers to access the internet, offering a combination of speed, reliability, and low latency. However, the cost of infrastructure has historically been a limiting factor. There are an estimated 10 to 15 million homes in South African townships, with households earning less than R5 000 per month, whose internet needs are currently inadequately serviced mainly by mobile operators through more expensive and less effective connectivity.

Fairvest’s investment in Onepath Investments (OPI) has funded the acquisition of fibre and related infrastructure leased to fibertime™, a proven fibre network operator and internet service provider, catering specifically to South Africa’s township market. fibertime™’s pay-as-you-go model offers fast fibre internet (uncapped 100Mbps) for only R5 per device per 24 hours and includes free equipment and installation.  Through this investment, Fairvest, through OPI, has enabled fibertime™ to provide fast, uncapped pay-as-you-go internet connectivity to lower LSM customers and communities, helping to unlock the untapped potential of South Africa’s township fibre market. fibertime™ aims to reduce costs, enabling more people to access the internet, and in the process, help entrepreneurs build large businesses that can create job opportunities for thousands of young people in townships. In the last three years, fibertime™ has successfully rolled out affordable fibre to more than 200 000 homes in townships and low-income areas nationwide in South Africa.

Fairvest CEO, Darren Wilder, said: “The investment aligns closely with Fairvest’s core retail strategy and target market of serving low-income, high-density communities in under-serviced areas. Serving communities with cost-effective digital access and data solutions is transformative in improving educational and employment outcomes, fostering entrepreneurship, creating business opportunities, and reducing income inequality. As these communities do better, it also enhances Fairvest’s core retail market.”

 Fairvest’s announcement follows its pre-close presentation last week, where the Company lifted its guidance for annual distribution growth per B share to above 10%. Previously, the Company guided for distribution growth of 8%-10%. The increase is due to a substantial improvement in property fundamentals with positive rental reversions of 5.0% (Mar ‘25: 4.3%), and a weighted average built-in escalation of 6.7% (Mar ‘25: 6.6%). The Retail portfolio, representing 71% of the total portfolio by revenue, has demonstrated markedly lower vacancy, a strong improvement in rental reversions, and an increased WALE. The Office portfolio (18% of the total portfolio by revenue) was resilient, continuing to reduce vacancy and increase average gross rentals, while maintaining built-in escalations at 7%. Office WALE reduced modestly. Industrial assets comprise 11% of the total portfolio. Vacancy increased in the industrial portfolio, primarily due to one property; however, the portfolio demonstrated notable improvements in rental reversion, average gross rental per square metre, and built-in escalations. Fairvest’s loan-to-value is expected to be below 30.0% by year-end.

Wilder ended: “Fairvest’s traditional portfolio is positioned for solid growth. Additionally, OPI’s digital infrastructure business is well-positioned for rapid expansion. fibertime™’s potential target market in South Africa is enormous, and to date, all acquisitions have outperformed the projected take-up levels. We are excited about this investment, which has such potential, and expect its strong performance to continue.”

 

Fairvest delivers another strong preformance

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 FAIRVEST DELIVERS ANOTHER STRONG PERFORMANCE AND ANNOUNCES RETAIL ACQUISITIONS VALUED AT R478 MILLION

  • An 8.8% growth in interim distribution per B share to 23.10 cents
  • Interim distribution per A share of 69.66 cents
  • Pay-out ratio of 100% maintained
  • Like-for-like net property income increased by 5.1%
  • Vacancies at 5.5%
  • New deal WALE of 47.3 months
  • Loan-to-value ratio reduced to 31.8%
  • Distribution per B share growth for the year expected of between 8.0% and 10.0%

Fairvest Limited announced results for the six months to 31 March 2025, with an interim distribution of 69.66 cents per A share and 23.10 cents per B share. The latter represents an 8.8% growth rate, significantly outpacing the Consumer Price Index.

Fairvest owns and manages a direct property portfolio comprising 127 retail, office, and industrial properties, valued at R12.5 billion, with an average property value of R98.1 million. During the six months, the Group increased its holdings in Dipula Properties Limited from 5.0% to 26.3%, which was accretive to earnings, loan-to-value and net asset value.

Chief Executive Officer Darren Wilder said: “Fairvest is making consistent progress in transforming its diverse portfolio by improving the quality while pursuing its aim of becoming a retail-only REIT servicing low-income communities in South Africa. This is achieved by disposing of non-core assets and reinvesting in retail-focused properties. Approximately 70% of revenue is already generated from retail properties.

Solid property fundamentals

Fairvest experienced positive letting activity, with 236 new deals and 216 renewals concluded over the six months. Pleasingly, the new deal weighted average lease expiry (WALE) has increased from 36.7 months at year-end to 47.3 months. Positive rental reversions continued to improve from 3.6% to 4.3%. Average gross rentals have increased by 2.5% to R130.69 per m2 since year-end. The weighted average lease escalation across the portfolio was stable at 6.6%, with a weighted average lease expiry increasing from 28.6 to 31.0 months. While vacancies have edged up from 4.3% to 5.5%, they remain low, with a tenant retention of 81.3%.

The Group continued to exercise strict control over its expenses, with the entire 8.0% increase in property expenses linked to higher municipal costs. Excluding this factor, operating expenses decreased by 1.9%.

Improving the quality of the portfolio

Fairvest disposed of one industrial property valued at R24 million during the period. The transaction was concluded at an average yield of 9.0% and a 14.3% premium to book value, underscoring its conservative valuation approach. Fairvest continued to invest in the portfolio, incurring capital expenditure of R139.0 million, of which R19.8 million relates to further investments in solar initiatives. The Group also invested R76.6 million in fibre network infrastructure, which earns rental income.

A lower LTV and improved cost of funding

The Group’s net loans of R4.4 billion represent an SA REIT loan-to-value (“LTV“) of 31.8%, a 150bps reduction since year-end (September 2024: 33.3%). The weighted average interest rate for the Group improved by 32bps to 9.38% (September 2024: 9.70%), with a weighted average maturity of 1.9 years.  Fairvest remains well within the Group and portfolio LTV and interest cover ratio covenants. As at 31 March 2025, the Group had cash on hand and undrawn debt facilities of R547.4 million to apply towards growth.

Substantial progress in ESG resilience

The Group has made significant progress with its business continuity strategy during adverse conditions. Currently, around 48.3% of the portfolio GLA has access to either partial or complete backup power.

The Group has also continued to invest in renewable energy, increasing the number of solar plants to 46, with a total installed capacity of 21.9 MWp. These plants provided 16.7% of the combined portfolio’s electricity needs in the six months. Clean, renewable energy generated during this time amounted to R33.1 million. A further eight plants are currently undergoing feasibility assessments, approvals, and implementation, which will add 2.1 MWp of capacity.

Water management remains a significant focus area. A range of water management and water savings projects is underway, including 23 operational groundwater harvesting plants and the strategic installation of 29 smart monitoring equipment to enable early leak detection.

Positive growth expected

CEO of Fairvest, Darren Wilder, said: “The portfolio continues to benefit from the disciplined execution of our strategic objectives – vacancies remain consistently low, tenant quality has improved, and the portfolio remains operationally robust. These solid fundamentals, combined with conservative balance sheet management, position the Group for sustained growth”.

 Given the strong operational metrics and accretive transactions concluded, Fairvest expects distributable earnings per B share to increase by between 8.0% and 10.0% for the 2025 financial year. In line with the Company’s Memorandum of Incorporation, the distribution per A share will increase by the lesser of 5% or the most recent CPI value.

The Board has resolved to maintain the current dividend payout ratio of 100% of distributable earnings.

The retail portfolio is bolstered through several acquisitions

Consistent with its strategy to expand its portfolio of retail assets, Fairvest also yesterday announced the acquisition of five retail properties located in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. The total value of the acquisitions is R477.7 million with a blended yield of 9.81%. Fairvest concluded agreements to acquire Nquthu Shopping Centre, Ulundi Shopping Centre, Eyethu Junction, and Shoprite Manguzi in KwaZulu-Natal. These shopping centres have key food retailers, including Shoprite, Boxer, and SuperSpar, as anchor tenants.

Fairvest has, in addition, entered into an agreement to acquire Thembalethu Square, located outside George in the Western Cape, which is anchored by Shoprite and Boxer. Fairvest owns 51% of the issued shares in the new acquiring company.

The new shopping centres will add 34 118m² of gross lettable to the retail portfolio.

Fairvest Launches Rosebank Quarter

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Fairvest Launches Rosebank Quarter After R30 Million Transformation Project

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, JSE-listed real estate investment trust Fairvest Limited has officially launched Rosebank Quarter, a newly refurbished mixed-use commercial property in the heart of Rosebank, the R30 million redevelopment was carried out over two years, aimed at bringing the building in line with the growing quality of the precinct.

The launch marks the culmination of months of construction and design work to reposition the asset as a vibrant commercial hub, offering a refreshed mix of office, retail and lifestyle offerings.

The property has undergone a significant upgrade, including a full exterior overhaul with contemporary cladding and integrated lighting that brings the structure to life after hours. Internally, the entrance has been fully redesigned and now features a scenic lift, while the building’s courtyards have been reworked with water features, new paving, planters and seating areas.

Retail elements have also been given attention, with new shopfronts installed throughout and external food stalls creating a more active, pedestrian-friendly interface. Office spaces inside the building have been refurbished to support modern working environments, while the basement now benefits from digital access control and number plate recognition technology.

Fairvest CEO Darren Wilder said the project reflects the company’s approach to enhancing assets in key urban locations.

“Rosebank Quarter is a strong example of how we reinvest into our portfolio to drive both tenant value and broader precinct upliftment. We’re not just refreshing buildings, we’re strengthening our position in key nodes like Rosebank, where demand for well-located, accessible commercial space continues to grow.”

The asset sits within the fast-evolving Rosebank district, an area that has seen continued growth in both commercial and residential development over the past five years. The redesign of Rosebank Quarter was aimed at meeting this growth with an offering that reflects both the expectations of today’s tenants and the energy of the surrounding neighbourhood.

Founder and Architect at Oblik Architecture and Design, Mary-Lee Nicoloudakis, who developed and oversaw the redesign, said the vision was to create a building that felt cohesive with its environment while offering a new level of finish.

“There was a strong emphasis on giving the building a renewed identity, one that felt authentic to Rosebank’s urban character, but with enough warmth and human scale to make it comfortable and inviting. The use of Art Deco cues, in a modernised way, allowed us to blend heritage and future.”

The building is already seeing strong leasing interest, supported by its upgraded amenities, ample parking and growing footfall in the area. A diverse tenant mix is expected to include cafés, food outlets, and boutique retailers, along with a base of small to mid-sized businesses occupying the office components.

In line with Fairvest’s broader environmental strategy, the company has begun early-stage solar installation on the building and is rolling out smart metering across larger electrical loads to better manage energy usage. These measures form part of its long-term ESG goals, particularly around reducing carbon emissions across its urban asset base.

Today’s launch was attended by project partners, stakeholders and current tenants, many of whom remained operational throughout the refurbishment process.

“The patience and support of our tenants during the construction period has been invaluable,” said Wilder. “It speaks to the strength of the community we’re building here, one that is invested in what Rosebank Quarter can become.”