Mara Delta considers new name, aspires to list in London
Headquartered in Mauritius, the largest pan-African property fund Mara Delta, has rebranded and will be known as Grit Real Estate Income Group Limited, the company announced on Monday.
Listed on both the Stock Exchange of Mauritius and the JSE, the company has aspirations to list on the main board of the London Stock Exchange, according to CEO Bronwyn Corbett.
“We have recently completed a US$121 million capital raise to mainly settle pipeline acquisitions. This will boost our asset portfolio to over US$600 million in value. We believe that Grit must deliver a balance of international gravitas to investors while ensuring African credibility and authenticity,” says Corbett.
Grit has increased its assets from two buildings - the Anadarko office block in Maputo, Mozambique and Anfaplace Shopping Centre in Casablanca, Morocco, valued at US$140 - to 19 properties across five countries, including Zambia, Kenya and Mauritius.
The company has headquarters in Grand Baie, Mauritius. It has steadily increased its investments in Mauritius, with assets there accounting for 21% of its total asset value. They include a 44.4% stake in three four-star Beachcomber hotels, Le Victoria, Le Canonnier and Le Mauricia and full ownership of one four-star Lux Resorts hotel in Tamassa, These assets are leased back by their operators, which means Grit has no direct exposure to hospitality risk.
The company wanted to be less reliant on capital raises and would focus on growing net asset value, bedding down pipeline acquisitions and increasing liquidity, said Corbett.
"We now have critical mass and anticipate raising capital less regularly in the market."
Chris Segar of Ivy Asset Management said Grit had gained experience in various territories, having been the only Africa-focused property company listed on the JSE. However, it was still relatively small and needed to improve its liquidity.
"What concerns me is that in the last rights issue only 64% of their shareholders took up their rights and the underwriters had to take up the remainder.