Linkedin-in
Twitter Linkedin-in

QUICK
LINKS

listed property

Vukile pre-close trading update for year ended 31 March 2025

by

Vukile Property Fund closes a transformative year and forecasts accelerating growth

Vukile Property Fund (JSE: VKE), the leading specialist retail real estate investment trust (REIT), delivered a strong pre-close trading update for its financial year ended 31 March 2025, underscoring its dealmaking dexterity, strategic expansion and robust operational delivery. Vukile confirmed it is on track to meet its full-year guidance of 2% to 4% growth in funds from operations (FFO) per share and 6% growth in dividends per share (DPS).

Reflecting strong business momentum and high-quality earnings, Vukile also provided preliminary guidance on FFO and dividend per share growth for FY26 of at least 6%, based on conservative assumptions and without anticipating any need for new equity capital.

The transformative year has been underpinned by strategic execution. Driven by disciplined dealmaking and decisive capital deployment, Vukile’s gross asset value now exceeds R50 billion.

Through its 99.5%-held Spanish subsidiary Castellana Properties, Vukile grew its asset base in Spain and Portugal by nearly 60%. It exited its investment in Lar España at an impressive profit of EUR82 million, swiftly redeploying capital to acquire the iconic Bonaire Shopping Centre in Spain’s Valencia province at a compelling cash-on-cash return of over 8%, avoiding cash drag and securing sustainable earnings from a top-quality asset.

Adding a new engine of growth to its strategy, Vukile entered Portugal with four high-quality retail acquisitions. A fifth deal is well advanced and already fully funded.

All-in-all, the Iberian portfolio grew around 60% over the 12 months, cementing Vukile’s dominant position across two of Europe’s strongest economies − Spain and Portugal. Approximately two-thirds of Vukile’s assets and 60% of earnings are now offshore.

In South Africa, Vukile acquired a 50% stake in Mall of Mthatha (formerly BT Ngebs) in May 2024, where early turnaround performance has exceeded expectations. The mall’s vacancy rate has decreased dramatically from 18% to just 1.8%.

These assets were acquired at a favourable point in the cycle, expanding Vukile’s footprint and growing its Iberian portfolio with strategically aligned, high-performing assets that are delivering strong cash flows with further upside through targeted asset management.

“We’ve come through a phase of explosive growth. Now, we’re focused on integration, optimisation and crystallising value from these assets. Vukile remains open to opportunities but will prioritise deepening value within its current footprint, and for the time being we don’t expect to raise capital,” confirms Laurence Rapp, CEO of Vukile Property Fund.

Operational strength has stood out across Vukile’s portfolio of high-performance, strategically located shopping centres, with limited exposure to new competition and strong pricing power.

In South Africa, like-for-like net property income (NPI) grew 6.4%, vacancies remain below 2%, and 84% of rental reversions were positive or flat.  The portfolio has recorded growth in both sales and footfall. The cost-to-income ratio reduced to 15%, with ongoing progress in solar and water initiatives enhancing sustainability metrics and efficiencies.

In the Iberian portfolio, like-for-like NPI increased by almost 2% and with various value-add projects now complete, significant upward momentum can be expected in the year ahead. Vacancies in both portfolios remain below 2%. Positive rental reversions were a standout 23.6% in Spain and 6.15% in Portugal. Sales grew 4.3% in Spain and 6.7% in Portugal.

“With a well-hedged balance sheet, minimal near-term debt expiries of just 2% maturing in FY26 and strong liquidity, Vukile is closing FY25 in an exceptionally positive position,” says Rapp.

Vukile Property Fund will report results for the full year to 31 March 2025 on 17 June 2025.

 

Vukile acquires flagship Spanish mall in EUR305 million deal

by

Vukile Property Fund (JSE: VKE), the leading specialist retail real estate investment trust (REIT), through its 99.5% held Spanish subsidiary Castellana Properties, has acquired the largest shopping centre in Spain’s Valencia province, the iconic Bonaire Shopping Centre, from multinational retail REIT Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield. The purchase consideration of EUR305 million represents an attractive entry yield of approximately 7%.

 The acquisition of the centre, considered a Top 10 shopping centre asset in Spain, was initially delayed due to torrential flash flooding in the Valencia Region in October 2024. As part of the centre’s reinstatement, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield fully refurbished the ground floor’s common areas and retail units, with many retailers simultaneously taking the opportunity to upgrade their stores and introduce new concepts.

Bonaire Shopping Centre reopened to record footfalls on 13 February 2025, further confirming its position as the leading shopping centre in its region.

Laurence Rapp, CEO of Vukile Property Fund, comments: “We are thrilled to have secured this exceptional asset from Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield further cementing Castellana’s position as a leading player in the Iberian retail property market. This accretive deal is our biggest by value to date and furthers our growth in Spain with a market-leading institutional grade asset.”

 The acquisition is being funded with the EUR200 million proceeds from the sale of Castellana’s stake in Lar España.

Rapp adds, “We made a tremendous profit of around EUR80 million on the Lar España trade and to redeploy the proceeds so quickly into such a high-quality asset and ensure no cash leakage is testament to our team’s deal making expertise.”

Further emphasising the transformational year of growth for Vukile, Rapp highlights Castellana’s strategic expansion into Portugal, where it has acquired four shopping centres since September 2024, funded with proceeds from the R1.5 billion raised by Vukile in September 2024.

These transactions are testament to Vukile’s and Castellana’s entrepreneurial and agile edge in the Iberian retail market, where local market knowledge, speed and creative deal-making are critical to success.

As part of the acquisition of Bonaire, Castellana has received an 18-month net operating income (NOI) guarantee. The centre currently has ample parking readily available, and its underground car park is expected to be reinstated and reopen by mid-2025 at no additional cost to Castellana.

Bonaire Shopping Centre is in Valencia, the third largest city, fourth most popular tourist region and third most populous residential area in Spain, boasting consumers with incomes well above the national average. Valencia has attracted the third highest level of investment in Spain over the past five years. It enjoys exceptional links to local and international markets, with the second largest port in Spain and the fifth largest in Europe. It connects to all major cities in Spain via Spanish high-speed AVE trains, which operate on the longest high-speed network in Europe. Furthermore, the Valencia Airport is located very close to the centre.

As the leading and top-performing shopping and leisure destination in Valencian province, the open-air centre has a proven trading track record with market-leading, above-market sales density and footfall averages. It boasts an impressive 99% long-term occupancy rate with a diversified mix of highly attractive brands, appealing to customers from across the entire region. Tenants include six Inditex fashion brands including Zara, as well as Primark, JD Sports, Cinesa, Mango, H&M and Fnac, to name a few. Bonaire also features a top-floor leisure, food and beverage area that was refurbished in 2016. The 138-store, 55,800sqm gross lettable area (GLA) centre acquired by Castellana is linked to an Alcampo hypermarket, which takes the total property to 78,000sqm. Further, Bonaire is part of a powerful retail node of 135,200sqm and 151 stores, including Leroy Merlin, Decathlon and leasing Scandinavian furniture retailer JYSK.

For Castellana, the transaction further strengthens its already strong portfolio of dominant shopping centres in Iberian regional cities and expands its footprint on Spain’s east coast. Vukile and Castellana excel at consistently adding value to high-quality retail assets, and the 10,000sqm of immediate expansion potential at Bonaire creates ideal strategic alignment with Castellana’s on-the-ground asset management and development expertise. Bonaire also aligns with its ESG goals, having earned an “outstanding” BREEAM score for management and an A-grade EPC certificate.

For Vukile, the deal scales up its Spanish investment. From a zero base in July 2017, following the Bonaire Shopping Centre acquisition approximately two-thirds of Vukile’s assets will be offshore in the Iberian Peninsula, in the high-growth, attractive markets of Portugal and Spain.

Stor-Age success story goes passed half a Million customers

by

Stor-Age – The South African Real Estate Success Story Goes Passed Half a Million Customers

Stor-Age Property REIT Limited, South Africa’s leading and largest self storage property fund, has now passed the 500 000 customer mark since inception, a significant milestone for the business and the sector. Stor-Age, the only self storage REIT listed on any emerging market exchange, now trades from a portfolio of more than 100 properties spread across South Africa and the UK.

 Now in its 19th year of trading, Stor-Age has grown from its first property in Edgemead, Cape Town, to a total of 107¹ properties across South Africa and the UK. During this time, the company grew to become the largest operator in the region, listed on the JSE, strategically entered the UK market in 2017 and has successfully grown it’s UK brand, Storage King, to become the fifth largest operator in the country.

With a total investment property value of more than R17.0 billion¹, the company now offers over 600 000m2 of space to the public and looks after more than 52 000 customer’s goods across both markets. While the company has achieved remarkable growth, it has also successfully increased the occupancy in its owned portfolio to more than 91.0%.

While Stor-Age, one of only 11 publicly traded self storage Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) globally, has outperformed the listed property index (SAPY) by 150% since listing in 20152, the company has also performed well against its international peers. Data released by Blue Gem Research3 in their February 2025 valuation update note shows that Stor-Age’s five-year total return ranks in fourth place globally against other self storage REITs. This is ahead of National Storage, Australasia’s largest self-storage owner-operator, Shurgard, which operates across seven European markets, and the two largest operators in the UK, Big Yellow and Safestore.

Comments Carlo Bondesio, Stor-Age Head of Operations in South Africa, “Stor-Age is a wonderful South African success story, growing from humble beginnings as a family business in 2006 into one of the leading self storage operators globally and also being one of the standout performers amongst JSE listed REITs over the last decade. Looking back on our listing on the JSE nearly ten years ago, we’ve grown the business from around 130 000m2 to approximately 610 000m2 today and expanded our portfolio from 24 properties at listing to 107 across two markets. While successfully servicing over 500 000 customers is a significant milestone for us, we are still deeply rooted in our values and vision to become the best self storage business in the world.”

With deep product understanding and experience in both an emerging and first-world market, Stor-Age has bold growth ambitions to further expand the portfolio. The company currently has a pipeline comprising 48 000m2, with 11 projects at various stages of completion. Now entering their next five-year strategic growth cycle, Stor-Age plans to continue growing in both markets through new developments, the expansion of existing properties, strategic joint ventures and its highly specialised third-party management offering.

​The key to Stor-Age’s success since its inception lies in its strategic focus on prime property locations, a deep product understanding, a customer-centric approach, operational excellence and the integration of technology and digital marketing capabilities. Added to that, the self storage sector is a growth sector globally and has also continued to demonstrate remarkable resilience – as evidenced during the Global Financial Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

As Stor-Age looks to the future, the company remains confident in its growth prospects with an excellent opportunity to further expand its presence in both markets.The share closed yesterday at R14.31.

Stor-Age delivers postive operational performance

by

STOR-AGE DELIVERS POSITIVE OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE, CONTINUES TO EXECUTE ON ITS NEW LONDON DEVELOPMENT SITE AND GROWS PIPELINE OF UK PROPERTIES TO SIX WITH HINES

Stor-Age Property REIT Limited, South Africa’s leading and largest self storage property fund, announced robust trading results for the four-month period ending 31 January 2025, with total occupancy and average rental rates up.

 Stor-Age delivered a strong trading performance in South Africa in Q3 of FY25, ending 31 December 2024, which continued in January 2025. Occupancy in the owned portfolio increased by 5 400m2 compared to September 2024, to close at 93.5% at 31 January 2025. The portfolio achieved an average rental rate increase of 7.8% year-on-year.

In the context of a subdued economic environment and relative to publicly traded operators, the UK portfolio’s performance was resilient. With Q3 being the weakest trading quarter seasonally in the UK for the self storage sector, total year-to-date occupancy still ended up 1.5%, increasing by 1 400m2. The portfolio achieved an average rental rate increase of 4.1% year-on-year.

The company’s joint venture (JV) properties performed well in both markets, with occupancy since 30 September 2024 increasing by 4 100m2 and 2 700m2 in South Africa and the UK respectively.

Comments Stor-Age CEO Gavin Lucas, “We are pleased with the continued strong operational performance achieved over the four-month period. Our South African portfolio has performed exceptionally well, while our UK portfolio continued to demonstrate its defensive nature and resilience.”

The company has continued to expand its footprint in both markets. In Cape Town, expansion continued at the Parklands property which will increase the GLA to 6 900m2. In the company’s JV with Garden Cities, a purchase agreement was also recently finalised to acquire a parcel of land adjacent to the Sunningdale property, which has performed exceptionally well since its opening in May 2021, to expand the property to 10 500m2.

In London, together with its JV partners, the company completed the development of its property in Leyton (located in east London) in January 2025 and progress continued at the Acton property (located in west London), with a targeted completion date of Q1 FY26. The Leyton property will comprise 3 900m2 on full fit-out while the Acton property will comprise 5 800m2.

Adds Lucas, “There remains an undersupply of high quality self storage properties across both South Africa and the UK providing the group with an excellent opportunity to expand its presence in both markets. The long lease-up period (financing cost implications) required to reach stabilised occupancy at new properties in these high-barrier-to-entry locations also contributes to the defensive nature of our portfolio.”

The company has also continued to make significant progress with its third-party management offering, Management 1st, particularly with privately owned global real estate investment, development and management firm Hines. In addition to the three property Kent Space portfolio which closed in May 2024, the Hines development pipeline now consists of an additional six properties.

Adds Lucas, “Within the Hines pipeline, two development sites have recently been acquired in Chelmsford and Buckinghamshire. Construction at the first site in Chelmsford, Essex is scheduled to begin in Q1 FY26 and work is underway to submit a detailed planning application for the second site in Buckinghamshire by the end of March. Hines hold exclusivity over the four remaining properties in the pipeline, all of which are in various stages of planning.”

Looking ahead, the company remains focused on further expanding its portfolio while continuing to produce an attractive trading performance. Concludes Lucas, “The outlook for development activity remains positive and we are well positioned to pursue these opportunities with our JV partners as they arise.”

The share closed on Friday at R14.60.

Delivering strong performance aligned with strategic goals

by

Delivering strong performance aligned with strategic goals

Attacq Limited is proud to share its latest pre-close update, reflecting solid progress aligned with our strategic vision and reinforcing confidence in achieving our FY25 distributable income per share (DIPS) growth guidance of 17% to 20%.

As a JSE-listed REIT, Attacq remains committed to delivering long-term value for stakeholders, with recent achievements demonstrating our dedication to sustainable growth and resilience.

Key highlights from the update include:

–  A high occupancy rate of 92% and an impressive collection rate of 98.7%, reflecting the strength of our portfolio and partnerships

– The successful R760 million DMTN issuance at reduced margins fortifies our financial flexibility, with FY25 interest cover ratio projected above 2.5 times and gearing below 30%

– Five rooftop PV systems are in progress, elevating our renewable energy mix to 9.3% and advancing sustainablity objectives

– The Waterfall Junction water connection has been finalised, creating pathways for developments and sustained economic growth

– Strategic upgrades, including a 1 995m² Checkers expansion and 23 store revamps, modifying the retail experience and enhancing value for our clients and shoppers.

Attacq’s achievements are a testament to our unwavering commitment to people, purpose, and progress. “Our journey is driven by a vision to create spaces that inspire, deliver sustainable growth, and leave a lasting impact on the communities we serve,” says CEO Jackie van Niekerk.

With an eye on the future, Attacq continues to lead through innovation and purpose, building a sustainable legacy characterised by growth and resilience

Copyright SA REIT Association

© 2025
Privacy Policy