Roy Cokayne
Arrowhead had concluded a deal to acquire the black-owned and -managed Indite Property Fund for R178 million, as part of its broader black empowerment strategies, the listed property loan stock company said yesterday.
The transaction follows Arrowhead’s acquisition this month of 15 office, retail and industrial properties in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, North West, Free State and Northern Cape from various sellers for a total of R489m.
Indite Property Fund’s portfolio consists of six buildings with a combined gross lettable area of 17 000m2 located in Gauteng, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and North West.
The purchase consideration would be settled with a combination of Arrowhead linked units and cash.
Imraan Suleman, Arrowhead’s chief financial officer, said this transaction showed the company’s commitment to meet the provisions of the property charter in the areas of ownership, executive management, procurement, transfer of skills as well as enterprise development.
Suleman added that on finalisation of the transaction, Arrowhead would transfer its government-tenanted buildings, valued at about R390m, into the Indite portfolio to enable Indite Property Fund to enter into longer-term leases with the government.
“We will continue to strive for transformation in South Africa and to promote a vibrant, growing property sector. In addition, this acquisition will further our objective of acquiring well located and tenanted properties, on a yield-enhancing basis,” he said.
The Indite Property Fund would be externally managed by a 100 percent black-owned asset manager, Indite Manco.
Thomas Matlala, the chief executive of Indite Manco, said that together with Arrowhead, they saw a great opportunity to grow Indite in the government and parastatal market.
“We are well positioned to capitalise on many opportunities in this growth sector by developing our niche strength as a 100 percent black-managed property fund,” he said.
The acquisitions by Arrowhead this month are in line with the company’s strategy to grow its portfolio by 30 percent or R660m in its current financial year.
Arrowhead’s A-linked units gained 1.25 percent to R7.29.