Indluplace goes on R707m buying spree
Carel de Wit, CFO of Indluplace, said the acquisition places the company well on track to meet its aggressive target of doubling the portfolio from the date of listing to R3,2 billion by September 2016.
Residential focused REIT, Indluplace today announced it had concluded an agreement to acquire a R707 million portfolio of newly built residential properties from International Housing Solutions
Many listed property funds are pushing money into residential property as it promises higher returns than that which is offered by some older office and retail assets.
Vukile Property Fund said it will launch its residential property strategy next year as it looks to add diversification to its predominantly retail-focused portfolio.
Speaking at the release of results for the six months to September on last week, CEO Laurence Rapp said residential property was in high demand and that Vukile was in discussions with a partner to either convert commercial properties to residential or develop new residential assets from scratch.
Carel de Wit, CFO of Indluplace, said the acquisition places the company well on track to meet its aggressive target of doubling the portfolio from the date of listing to R3,2 billion by September 2016.
The acquired portfolio consists of nine newly built suburban low rise developments with a total of 1 275 residential units of which 95% are two bedroom units and 5% comprises one bedroom units. 26% of the units are located in the Western Cape, 25% in Mpumalanga and 49% in Gauteng.
After the acquisition, Indluplace will own more than 6 300 units, up from 3 690 on listing in June 2015.
Last month, Indluplace reported better- than-expected distribution for the financial year ended September 30. The fund posted distribution of 28.99c, ahead of the forecast 26.61c.
Mr De Wit said that the revised distribution forecast for the financial year to September 2016 had been increased to 92.55c a share, up over 10% on the 83.79c a share set out in the company’s prospectus.
Meanwhile, revenue for the year under review increased to R157.8-million, compared with the revenue of R37.4-million recorded in the prior financial year, owing to acquisitions that were concluded in the previous financial year, as well as the partial impact of acquisitions concluded in the period under review.
