Johannesburg - Stor-Age Property, which claims to be the country’s largest self-storage property fund, is set to list on the JSE next month.
When it lists an initial R1.3 billion portfolio of self-storage properties, it will be the first real estate investment trust (Reit) of its kind listed on the JSE.
Prior to listing, the fund plans to raise about R700 million from institutional investors and has set aside another R15m for staff, customers and suppliers.
It is targeting a market capitalisation of about R1.2bn on listing, but the price a share will be finalised after the institutional bookbuild.
The fund is forecasting above-average distribution growth in the medium term and maintains it will be following in the footsteps of international self-storage peers, who have in recent years consistently outperformed the listed property sectors of the US, UK and Australia.
Stor-Age was founded in 2005 by the Lucas family, who remain the core of the executive management team and will continue to hold about 30 percent of the company.
Gavin Lucas, the chief executive of Stor-Age Property, said yesterday that the majority of the fund’s listing portfolio assets were considered mature in that they had more than 80-percent tenancy.
BUSINESS REPORT