Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa December/ January 2018/2019 | Page 48

LISTED Making sense of REITs S outh African Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) is a listed property investment vehicle that is similar to interna- tionally recognized REIT structures from around the world. Listed Company REITs or Trust REITS are publicly traded on the JSE. Monthly we publish REIT company financial results, their property strategies and highlights of their future plans. It gives the investor an insight to evaluate these companies for possible REIT investment opportunities, property education as well as sharing valuable information on how these companies have invested and progressed. INDLUPLACE PROPERTIES Delivers revenue growth through portfolio diversification Indluplace Properties Limited (“Indluplace”), a JSE-listed REIT with a portfolio that provides affordable rental housing, today released its financial Carel de Wit, CEO results for the year ended 30 September 2018. Indluplace reported a dividend of 49.19 cents per share for the six months ended September, bringing the total dividend for the year to 97.75 cents per share, in line with the prior year. Indluplace Properties is the only REIT listed on the main board of the JSE that focuses exclusively on rental residential property. Since its listing it has increased the value of its properties to R4.3 billion and currently owns 176 residential properties consisting of 9 788 residential units and about 18 163m2 retail space, spread mainly across Gauteng. Indluplace is growing a diverse portfolio by focusing on acquiring yield enhancing properties and portfolios that provide income from date of acquisition. This will be achieved by investing in rental housing, where a proven demand exists, generally in larger urban centres close to work opportunities and transport infrastructure. Indluplace offers an exit for developers or owners of residential stock or portfolios and utilises specialist outsourced property managers for the appropriate portfolios. During the reporting period, Indluplace bedded down its R4.3 billion (2017: R2.9 billion) expanded property investment portfolio following the acquisition of a R1.4 billion portfolio from the Buffet Group. As a result of the transaction, the portfolio now comprises 9 788 units across 176 properties that are spread across provinces and unit categories, making Indluplace a well- diversified and defensive property portfolio. Highlights • Full year dividend of 97.75 cents per share in line with prior year • Portfolio expanded to R4.3 billion • Focus on portfolio optimisation opportunities to ensure medium-term growth • Strong balance sheet with LTV of 30% 46 DECEMBER 2018/JANUARY 2019 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine Commenting on the year’s results, CEO Carel de Wit, said: “Notwithstanding a strenuous macroeconomic environment, we have benefited from the acquisitions of the Diluculo and Buffet portfolios in terms of revenue generation. Our expanded portfolio provides diversity in terms of location as well as mix of unit sizes and unit types that cater for the residential rental segment, which is expected to continue growing in the long term.” Since listing in 2015, Indluplace has grown its portfolio by an impressive 265% and has secured a significant presence in the affordable end of the residential rental market. The transformative acquisitions included in this year’s results resulted in a higher loan-to-value ratio of 30.1% (2017: 6.8%) through R1.5 billion in facilities secured from ABSA, Investec and Standard Bank. STOR-AGE Outperforms sector to continue growth Stor-Age is South Africa’s only specialist self storage REIT on the JSE. The fast-growing self storage sector is a niche sub-sector of the broader commercial property market. Stor-Age’s portfolio is differentiated by Gavin Lucas, CEO its properties’ high visibility to passing traffic, easy access off busy arterial routes and proximity to middle to upper income suburbs.  Stor-Age made a strategic entry into the UK self storage market in November 2017 and now owns the 6th largest UK self storage brand – Storage King.  The portfolio across South Africa and the United Kingdom comprises 73 properties (63 trading and 10 new developments), covering a GLA of c.414 000 m². The portfolio is concentrated in the four major South African cities - Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria and Durban (49 properties), with the United Kingdom portfolio having a bias towards the East and South- East of England (14 properties).   In addition to the 63 properties trading under the Stor-Age and Storage King brands, a further 12 properties trade under licence of the Storage King brand in the UK, bringing the total number of properties trading under the Storage King brand to