Fortress’s White River Crossing development, a state-of-the-art retail and leisure centre near the Kruger National Park.
Image: Supplied
Fortress Real Estate Investments has decided to offer shareholders the option of taking a capitalisation share of 87,90 cents per “B” share, or a cash dividend, with the capital retained to be used to fund the company’s property development pipeline currently standing at about R2,9 billion.
The company said Friday in an announcement the “A” capitalisation share will be priced at a 3% discount to the volume weighted average price of a Fortress “B” share on the JSE for up to 30 days prior to the finalisation date of the capitalisation issue.
The aim is to afford eligible Fortress B shareholders the opportunity to increase their investment in Fortress, while providing the flexibility for those B shareholders wishing to rather take a cash dividend.
Fortress owns a direct property portfolio valued at R38,7bn, which includes R24,1bn of logistics real estate and R11,9bn of retail real estate. It also holds a 14,2% stake in NEPI Rockcastle valued currently at R15,4bn - NEPI Rockcastle owns one of the largest retail and real estate portfolios in central and Eastern Europe and is the largest listed property company on the JSE.
By the end of December, in Fortress' R16,9bn directly owned logistics portfolio, the low vacancy of 0,3% was indicative of solid demand for premium grade logistics facilities.
The company noted in its half-year results that while new developments have been, and are being added in key nodes, they are mostly pre-let with limited speculative space coming to market. Tenants are also remaining in their existing facilities due to a lack of alternative choices.
“The low vacancy, combined with construction costs that remain at a far higher level than in the past, should lead to continued upward pressure on asking rentals,” the company said.
Refurbishment and extension projects would also continue to be undertaken on the retail portfolio - pleasing growth was seen last year following the completion of initiatives at 204 Oxford Shopping Centre, City Centre Mthatha, The Plaza (Mbombela), Palm Springs Mall, Kopano Shopping Centre, AbaQulusi Plaza, Bloemfontein Value Mart and Sterkspruit Plaza.
The company has started the 7,920 square metre extension of Botlokwa Plaza in Limpopo to accommodate major tenants. The project is scheduled for completion at the end of the 2026 calendar year.
The extension of Tzaneen Lifestyle Centre had also started with the development of an additional 20,617 square metres. This will include the expansion of the existing Checkers store to a Checkers Hyper. The extension will also introduce new tenants.
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