Fairvest acquires Jozini Mall and Tugela Ferry Mall for R674 million

Fairvest, the JSE-listed REIT, on Thursday announced the acquisition of Jozini Mall and Tugela Ferry Mall in KwaZulu-Natal for R674 million in total.

Fairvest stated in a statement that the transaction aligns with their strategy of investing in retail assets servicing previously underserved communities and located close to community centres and transport networks.

The right, title, and interest in Jozini Mall and Tugela Ferry Mall are held by Greater Atlantic Properties and Copperzone 163, respectively, in terms of a lease entered into between each of the sellers and Ingonyama Trust, the owner of the properties.

Muller Group Invest holds a 51.7% beneficial interest in Greater Atlantic Properties and a 41% beneficial interest in Copperzone 163 through three private companies related to the Muller family. The remaining interests are held by various individuals directly or indirectly through various corporate entities.

The purchase price will be allocated as follows: R399.1m to Jozini Mall and R274.9m to Tugela Ferry Mall

Jozini Mall covers 19,188 square metres with Shoprite as a key tenant, while Tugela Ferry Mall covers 14,853 square metres, also with Shoprite as a tenant.

Fairvest already owns over 128 properties, with 53.7% comprising retail properties, 25.9% industrial, and 20.4% office space. Fairvest forecasts strong earnings from the newly acquired assets, with revenue of R75.8m expected in the eight months ending September 2026, and R119.2 m in the 12 months to end-September 2027.

For its year ending September 30, 2025, the group said last month that it expects to exceed the upper end of its guided growth in distribution per B share of 8% to 10%. The loan-to-value ratio is expected to be below 30%, compared to 31.8% at the end of March 2025. The group secured R1.4 billion of new capital in two separate accelerated book builds during the period.

The group’s 75 retail properties cover a gross lettable area of 565 203 square metres, compared to 547 587 square metres at the end of March 2025. Vacancy by the end of September stood at 3.7%, compared to 4.3% at the end of March, according to a pre-close update last month.

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