Vunani Property Investment Fund plans R366m listing

VUNANI Property Investment Fund yesterday announced plans to list on the JSE’s main board next month via a private placement of units. Listing will provide platform for acquisitive growth, facilitated through private placing that will provide debt capacity to acquire properties.

The property company said in an abridged prelisting statement on the Stock Exchange News Service yesterday that the "main purpose of the listing is to provide the fund with a platform for acquisitive growth". 

"This will initially be facilitated through the private placing and will provide it with debt capacity to acquire yield-enhancing properties," said Vunani. 

The company is issuing units priced at between R7 and R8. 

The purpose of the private placement is to raise a minimum R366,7m. Vunani intends listing on August 11. 

Keillen Ndlovu, head of property funds at Stanlib, said the listing "brings diversity into the listed property sector. It is a specialised property fund focusing mostly on the office property sector. It gives investors the opportunity to invest in a fund that is almost entirely focused on offices. 

"The portfolio has low vacancies compared to the office market in general and it seems slightly under-rented, meaning the rentals are lower on average relative to similar buildings in the office market," he said. 

Vunani Property Investment Fund was established in June 2005. It was formed by Vunani Properties, a subsidiary of AltX- listed black-owned and managed financial services company Vunani, through the merger of its commercial property portfolio with a commercial property portfolio owned by JSE-listed property loan stock company Hyprop Investments. 

At the time Standard Bank Properties also agreed to sell a portfolio of its own commercial property assets to Vunani Property Investment Fund. 

Vunani said in the statement it would "utilise the expertise of its management team to add value to its portfolio through yield-enhancing upgrades".