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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.”

 

Growthpoint completes Phase 2 of the Arterial Industrial Estate.

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Growthpoint’s Logistics Portfolio is Bolstered by Completion of Arterial Industrial Estate, Cape Town 

Growthpoint Properties (JSE: GRT) has reached another milestone in its ongoing strategy to improve the quality of its directly held South African portfolio with the completion of Phase 2 of the Arterial Industrial Estate in Cape Town.

Driving its domestic portfolio enhancement, Growthpoint has strategically grown its logistics and industrial assets from 15% to 20% of the total SA portfolio value in recent years.

At the same time, South Africa’s leading REIT (real estate investment trust) has increased its exposure to modern logistics warehouses, the backbone of Growthpoint’s long-term value creation approach in this sector. Modern logistics properties are and now represent approximately half of the portfolio’s gross lettable area. It is also focusing its investment in better performing, higher demand areas of the country, specifically in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

A notable stride in this direction is the recent completion of Phase 2 of the Arterial Industrial Estate in Cape Town, adding quality capacity to the sought-after location. With 21,831sqm of additional lettable space, Phase 2 has added six more warehouse units, ranging from 2,945 square meters to 5,713 square meters, catering to a variety of business needs. Together, both phases of the development represents a nearly R400 million investment from Growthpoint.

The estate is experiencing strong demand, with two of the six units in Phase 2 already snapped up supported by strong tenant interest, highlighting the need for high-quality industrial space in the region. Phase 1 of Arterial Industrial Estate, spanning 19,741 square meters is fully let to top names in national and international industry.

“The completion of Arterial Industrial Estate’s Phase 2, and the good demand and take-up of available space it is experiencing, underscores the value we provide to businesses seeking efficient and sustainable industrial real estate solutions,” says Wouter de Vos, Growthpoint’s Regional Head: Western Cape.

“Growthpoint is reporting strong performance in its logistics and industrial portfolio, fuelled by high occupancy rates and a strategic focus on modern facilities. Our well-let logistics and industrial portfolio demonstrates the increasing demand for modern, strategically located facilities,” says Errol Taylor, Growthpoint’s Head of Asset Management, Logistics and Industrial Property.

Arterial Industrial Estate is strategically positioned in Blackheath, a popular industrial hub in Cape Town, offering exceptional access to key transportation routes, including the R300, N1, and N2 highways, as well as Cape Town International Airport and the region’s seaports. This prime location allows businesses to efficiently connect with both local and global markets.

The estate offers 24-hour security, flexible warehouse and office space, and a commitment to sustainability, including solar panels and a four-star Green Star certification from the Green Building Council of South Africa.

“This project reflects a continued and deliberate pivot toward better-performing, future-fit logistics assets and aligns with Growthpoint’s strategy of targeted investment and divestment, and development,” adds Taylor.

Vukile acquires flagship Spanish mall in EUR305 million deal

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Vukile Property Fund (JSE: VKE), the leading specialist retail real estate investment trust (REIT), through its 99.5% held Spanish subsidiary Castellana Properties, has acquired the largest shopping centre in Spain’s Valencia province, the iconic Bonaire Shopping Centre, from multinational retail REIT Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield. The purchase consideration of EUR305 million represents an attractive entry yield of approximately 7%.

 The acquisition of the centre, considered a Top 10 shopping centre asset in Spain, was initially delayed due to torrential flash flooding in the Valencia Region in October 2024. As part of the centre’s reinstatement, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield fully refurbished the ground floor’s common areas and retail units, with many retailers simultaneously taking the opportunity to upgrade their stores and introduce new concepts.

Bonaire Shopping Centre reopened to record footfalls on 13 February 2025, further confirming its position as the leading shopping centre in its region.

Laurence Rapp, CEO of Vukile Property Fund, comments: “We are thrilled to have secured this exceptional asset from Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield further cementing Castellana’s position as a leading player in the Iberian retail property market. This accretive deal is our biggest by value to date and furthers our growth in Spain with a market-leading institutional grade asset.”

 The acquisition is being funded with the EUR200 million proceeds from the sale of Castellana’s stake in Lar España.

Rapp adds, “We made a tremendous profit of around EUR80 million on the Lar España trade and to redeploy the proceeds so quickly into such a high-quality asset and ensure no cash leakage is testament to our team’s deal making expertise.”

Further emphasising the transformational year of growth for Vukile, Rapp highlights Castellana’s strategic expansion into Portugal, where it has acquired four shopping centres since September 2024, funded with proceeds from the R1.5 billion raised by Vukile in September 2024.

These transactions are testament to Vukile’s and Castellana’s entrepreneurial and agile edge in the Iberian retail market, where local market knowledge, speed and creative deal-making are critical to success.

As part of the acquisition of Bonaire, Castellana has received an 18-month net operating income (NOI) guarantee. The centre currently has ample parking readily available, and its underground car park is expected to be reinstated and reopen by mid-2025 at no additional cost to Castellana.

Bonaire Shopping Centre is in Valencia, the third largest city, fourth most popular tourist region and third most populous residential area in Spain, boasting consumers with incomes well above the national average. Valencia has attracted the third highest level of investment in Spain over the past five years. It enjoys exceptional links to local and international markets, with the second largest port in Spain and the fifth largest in Europe. It connects to all major cities in Spain via Spanish high-speed AVE trains, which operate on the longest high-speed network in Europe. Furthermore, the Valencia Airport is located very close to the centre.

As the leading and top-performing shopping and leisure destination in Valencian province, the open-air centre has a proven trading track record with market-leading, above-market sales density and footfall averages. It boasts an impressive 99% long-term occupancy rate with a diversified mix of highly attractive brands, appealing to customers from across the entire region. Tenants include six Inditex fashion brands including Zara, as well as Primark, JD Sports, Cinesa, Mango, H&M and Fnac, to name a few. Bonaire also features a top-floor leisure, food and beverage area that was refurbished in 2016. The 138-store, 55,800sqm gross lettable area (GLA) centre acquired by Castellana is linked to an Alcampo hypermarket, which takes the total property to 78,000sqm. Further, Bonaire is part of a powerful retail node of 135,200sqm and 151 stores, including Leroy Merlin, Decathlon and leasing Scandinavian furniture retailer JYSK.

For Castellana, the transaction further strengthens its already strong portfolio of dominant shopping centres in Iberian regional cities and expands its footprint on Spain’s east coast. Vukile and Castellana excel at consistently adding value to high-quality retail assets, and the 10,000sqm of immediate expansion potential at Bonaire creates ideal strategic alignment with Castellana’s on-the-ground asset management and development expertise. Bonaire also aligns with its ESG goals, having earned an “outstanding” BREEAM score for management and an A-grade EPC certificate.

For Vukile, the deal scales up its Spanish investment. From a zero base in July 2017, following the Bonaire Shopping Centre acquisition approximately two-thirds of Vukile’s assets will be offshore in the Iberian Peninsula, in the high-growth, attractive markets of Portugal and Spain.

Spear REIT FY2025 Pre-Close reflects a transformative year

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Spear REIT Limited (JSE:SEA), the Western Cape-focused real estate investment trust has provided an operational and financial update in its FY2025 pre-close presentation for the period ending 28 February 2025. Spear REIT’s FY2025 stands out in the sector due to its strategic focus and consistent robust financial metrics. The company reported a 13.58% year-on-year increase in portfolio value, reaching R5.26 billion assets under ownership, and maintained a high occupancy rate of 96.02% with a further 100bps increase in occupancies since HY2025. The company remains on track to deliver on its objectives and forecast, reporting impressive performance metrics and continued portfolio growth.

Highlights

  • Portfolio value: 26 billion, reflecting a 13.58% increase year-on-year
  • Market capitalisation increase of 5 billion to R 3.3 billion
  • Loan-to-value (LTV) ratio: 97%
  • Interest coverage ratio (ICR): 34 times
  • Fixed debt ratio: 18%, with an average debt expiry of 24 months
  • Proposed final payout ratio: 95%
  • Portfolio occupancy rate: 02%

At the pre-close presentation, Spear’s CEO, Quintin Rossi, noted: “FY2025 has been a transformative year for us, driven by the success of the new Western Cape portfolio acquisition. Thanks to our regional operating strategy, the portfolio has been successfully stabilised into the core portfolio ahead of schedule and under budget. Our commitment to the Western Cape real estate market has resulted in sustained portfolio growth, high occupancy levels, and strong cash collections.”

Portfolio and operational performance

  • Occupancy:02%, supported by a strong tenant retention strategy
  • Portfolio in-force escalations:34%
  • Renewals and new lets: 86,359m² concluded versus 84,620m² expiring
  • Cash collections:78% year-to-date
  • Rental reversions: Portfolio-wide positive reversion of 52%

CFO Christiaan Barnard added: “Active capital recycling and disciplined financial management have bolstered our balance sheet, ensuring a resilient and sustainable capital structure. Our lower cost of debt and risk mitigation strategies continue to support our financial stability which has been a positive contributor to overall performance during the year.”

Spear has successfully implemented a R1.15 billion portfolio acquisition, significantly enhancing its asset base and bolstering its market presence with this accretive 93 500m2 diversified portfolio acquisition. “With an entrepreneurial management team that remains laser-focused on active asset and portfolio management, the Spear investment team is looking ahead towards the new financial year with approximately R1 billion in new acquisition opportunities currently under review, positioning the company for continued and sustained growth”, announced Rossi

Spear’s organic development pipeline is set to add future value to the core portfolio, with strategic projects aimed at expanding its industrial and mixed-use asset base. The GTX Park in George, a 30,000m² industrial development, is progressing with a total capital investment over 5 years of R400 million. Bravo Park in Blackheath is set to expand to Phase 2 by 7,000m², with an R82 million capital investment. Meanwhile, the Marine Drive mixed-use development in Paarden Eiland, anticipated to commence the rollout in phases, will require a total capital investment of R1.5 billion over five years.

Sustainability remains a core focus, with over 60% of the portfolio now equipped with solar PV infrastructure. Ten new solar PV systems are scheduled for installation, following the acquisition of the new portfolio. Furthermore, Spear is exploring wheeling projects within the City of Cape Town to enhance energy security and resilience across its portfolio.

Outlook for FY2025

Looking ahead, Spear remains focused on growth, value creation, and sustainable operations. Management reaffirmed its full year guidance of distribution per share (DIPS) growth of between 2% and4% for FY2025 while maintaining a 95% payout ratio.

Rossi concluded: “With strong leasing momentum, solid regional real estate fundamentals, an enhanced portfolio, and our disciplined financial approach, we are confident in our ability to navigate evolving market dynamics and deliver sustained value to our stakeholders in line with our mission statement.”

Spear will release its results for the full year FY2025 on 22nd May 2025.

Redefine navigates uncertainty with focus on organic growth

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Redefine Properties (JSE: RDF) announced in its pre-close investor update for the half-year ending 28 February 2025 that its earnings outlook has stabilised despite a challenging operating context, driven by a focus on efficiency and strong demand for quality assets.

The company reported that its South African portfolio achieved a net operating profit margin of 77.8%, while EPP, its directly owned Polish retail property platform, improved its margin from 66.4% to 71.7%. This led to a consolidated group net operating profit margin of 75.9%.

Redefine CEO Andrew König highlighted that the global path to economic normalisation has been disrupted by changes in US policy under President Donald Trump, which introduced uncertainty around interest rates and inflation. “The stage is now set for a shallow easing cycle, and rates may not reach the levels we previously expected. While European interest rates continue to trend downward, escalating geoeconomic tensions cloud the 2025 outlook. To sustain growth in valuations, we cannot rely solely on interest rate movements. Our strategic focus remains on organic income growth, as this will drive value creation in the current market.”

Looking ahead, Redefine’s strategy is focused on disciplined capital allocation, the sale of non-core assets to reduce its loan-to-value ratio, restructuring joint ventures to enhance visibility of income streams, whilst delivering income growth. König noted that commercial real estate transactional activity is on the rise, which will support the company’s plans to offload non-core assets, with growing interest in the market.

Despite the disruption caused by the delayed national budget speech, König pointed to two promising initiatives from the National Treasury: efforts to remove South Africa from the greylist by October and the restoration of the country’s investment-grade credit rating. “This is critical for our business, as Redefine’s Moody’s rating was downgraded alongside South Africa’s. A reversal of this could improve access to international debt markets, and the delayed budget may even help with these efforts.”

 Green shoots in the SA portfolio

 Redefine’s South African portfolio has demonstrated solid performance, particularly in the industrial and retail sectors, which drove a 1% increase in overall occupancy since August 2024. Additionally, 80% of renewals were completed at stable or increased rental terms, a positive indicator of growth.

The industrial sector has proven especially resilient, with occupancy rising to 97.6%, alongside positive rental reversions in a competitive market. “The industrial sector continues to be one of our strongest performers, and we see potential for further growth if capital availability allows us to expand,” said Leon Kok, Redefine’s COO.

Conversely, the office sector remains challenged by excess supply and limited demand, except in select nodes. A significant lease renewal resulted in a -17% renewal reversion during the period. However, Redefine mitigated this impact through strong leasing activity in other locations, such as the Western Cape and Sandton, which benefit from proximity to the Gautrain. “Demand is focused on high-quality assets, and our active asset management ensures our portfolio remains well-positioned to attract this limited demand,” Kok added.

Sustainability commitments

 Redefine is making notable strides towards its sustainability goals, with an ambition to become the most sustainable property company by 2030. The company plans to expand its renewable energy capacity by 47%, with an anticipated 17% of energy consumption coming from renewable sources by year-end. Additionally, Redefine has achieved a 38% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions across its European portfolio, further solidifying its commitment to environmental sustainability.

The company also received recognition from Sustainalytics, earning three badges, including being ranked the 16th most sustainable global real estate company, the only South African REIT to place among the top 50 worldwide.

Growth in Poland

 While South Africa faces ongoing challenges, Poland’s economic growth has benefited from European interest rate cuts and social grants that have boosted household spending and retail conditions. EPP’s core properties have seen impressive occupancy levels of 99.3%, with rental reversions rising from 0.2% to 1.5%. The rent-to-sales ratio remains well below 9%, indicating healthy tenant affordability.

Redefine is pursuing a strategy of selling non-core assets and restructuring joint ventures in Poland to reduce complexity and lower the see-through LTV. “We are exploring options to simplify our joint ventures to either exit or fully own them,” König explained.

 Strong cash generation

 Redefine’s financial position remains strong, with a liquidity profile of R6.4 billion as of November 2024. The company has also proactively managed its debt profile, including the FY25 maturities that are progressing well on the back of improved liquidity levels in the capital markets. As of February 2025, Redefine’s weighted average cost of debt decreased to 7.2%, providing some relief amid global inflationary pressures.

Ntobeko Nyawo, Redefine’s CFO, emphasised, “Our focus continues to be on generating organic growth from our existing portfolio, maintaining a strong balance sheet, and weathering the current economic cycle. We are positioning the company to capture opportunities in high-quality assets, while ensuring strong cash generation to support our dividend payouts.”

Looking ahead: Living the upside

Redefine enters 2025 with a focus on “living the upside,” aiming for sustainable, long-term value creation. König concluded, “While some macroeconomic factors, including US policy shifts, remain unpredictable, we are confident in our ability to create our own upside and deliver on our strategic goals.”

Despite macroeconomic challenges, the company is maintaining its earnings guidance for FY25, with distributable income per share expected to be between 50 and 53 cents.

 

 

 

Stor-Age delivers postive operational performance

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STOR-AGE DELIVERS POSITIVE OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE, CONTINUES TO EXECUTE ON ITS NEW LONDON DEVELOPMENT SITE AND GROWS PIPELINE OF UK PROPERTIES TO SIX WITH HINES

Stor-Age Property REIT Limited, South Africa’s leading and largest self storage property fund, announced robust trading results for the four-month period ending 31 January 2025, with total occupancy and average rental rates up.

 Stor-Age delivered a strong trading performance in South Africa in Q3 of FY25, ending 31 December 2024, which continued in January 2025. Occupancy in the owned portfolio increased by 5 400m2 compared to September 2024, to close at 93.5% at 31 January 2025. The portfolio achieved an average rental rate increase of 7.8% year-on-year.

In the context of a subdued economic environment and relative to publicly traded operators, the UK portfolio’s performance was resilient. With Q3 being the weakest trading quarter seasonally in the UK for the self storage sector, total year-to-date occupancy still ended up 1.5%, increasing by 1 400m2. The portfolio achieved an average rental rate increase of 4.1% year-on-year.

The company’s joint venture (JV) properties performed well in both markets, with occupancy since 30 September 2024 increasing by 4 100m2 and 2 700m2 in South Africa and the UK respectively.

Comments Stor-Age CEO Gavin Lucas, “We are pleased with the continued strong operational performance achieved over the four-month period. Our South African portfolio has performed exceptionally well, while our UK portfolio continued to demonstrate its defensive nature and resilience.”

The company has continued to expand its footprint in both markets. In Cape Town, expansion continued at the Parklands property which will increase the GLA to 6 900m2. In the company’s JV with Garden Cities, a purchase agreement was also recently finalised to acquire a parcel of land adjacent to the Sunningdale property, which has performed exceptionally well since its opening in May 2021, to expand the property to 10 500m2.

In London, together with its JV partners, the company completed the development of its property in Leyton (located in east London) in January 2025 and progress continued at the Acton property (located in west London), with a targeted completion date of Q1 FY26. The Leyton property will comprise 3 900m2 on full fit-out while the Acton property will comprise 5 800m2.

Adds Lucas, “There remains an undersupply of high quality self storage properties across both South Africa and the UK providing the group with an excellent opportunity to expand its presence in both markets. The long lease-up period (financing cost implications) required to reach stabilised occupancy at new properties in these high-barrier-to-entry locations also contributes to the defensive nature of our portfolio.”

The company has also continued to make significant progress with its third-party management offering, Management 1st, particularly with privately owned global real estate investment, development and management firm Hines. In addition to the three property Kent Space portfolio which closed in May 2024, the Hines development pipeline now consists of an additional six properties.

Adds Lucas, “Within the Hines pipeline, two development sites have recently been acquired in Chelmsford and Buckinghamshire. Construction at the first site in Chelmsford, Essex is scheduled to begin in Q1 FY26 and work is underway to submit a detailed planning application for the second site in Buckinghamshire by the end of March. Hines hold exclusivity over the four remaining properties in the pipeline, all of which are in various stages of planning.”

Looking ahead, the company remains focused on further expanding its portfolio while continuing to produce an attractive trading performance. Concludes Lucas, “The outlook for development activity remains positive and we are well positioned to pursue these opportunities with our JV partners as they arise.”

The share closed on Friday at R14.60.