Roy Cokayne
HYPROP, the listed retail property fund, has made progress with its R920 million redevelopment of the Rosebank Mall in Johannesburg and the expansion of its presence and investments in Africa.
Chief executive Pieter Prinsloo said yesterday that the redevelopment programme at Rosebank Mall was set for completion by the second half of next year.
“Construction is being carried out in a phased process and is progressing well, with 90 percent of the lettable area already taken up in committed leases,” he said. The redevelopment will increase the size of the shopping centre to 62 000m² from 36 000m².
Prinsloo said the emerging economies in Africa offered Hyprop a promising opportunity to expand its quality existing centres and develop its own in these fast-growing regions.
Hyprop signalled its entry into the African market in August last year when it concluded an agreement with the Atterbury Group to become a 37.5 percent co-investor in Atterbury Africa.
Prinsloo said Atterbury Africa had already increased its stake in Accra Mall in Ghana to 47 percent and begun construction on the West Hills shopping centre in western Accra. Negotiations to acquire interests in various other projects were well advanced.
In terms of its agreement with the Atterbury Group, Hyprop committed to invest R750m in the fund over the next five years.
Hyprop had invested R111m of its R750m commitment by the end of its financial year to December 2012, he added.
The investment in Atterbury Africa followed Hyprop’s buyout of Attfund Retail for R9 billion effective from last September.
Yesterday Hyprop reported a 6.8 percent growth in total distributions to R4.09 a combined unit in the year to last December.
The total return to unitholders was 44.8 percent, supported by a 37 percent growth in market capitalisation to R17.7bn. Revenue grew 37.5 percent to R2.18bn and headline earnings rose to R1.08bn from R708m.
Hyprop units ended unchanged at R72.35 yesterday.
