Liberty Group on Tuesday successfully unbundled and listed a portion of its property portfolio on the JSE’s main board as real estate investment trust (Reit) Liberty Two Degrees (L2D), raising some R3.8-billion.
The Amelia Beattie-led Reit raised R3-billion at listing price from invited investors and R780-million from Liberty Group, which enabled its policyholders to leverage a 5% discount to the subscription price.
The capital raised would enable Liberty to expand and enhance its existing portfolio of property assets and unlock the portfolio to investors outside its base of policyholders, Liberty Holdings group CEO Thabo Dloti explained.
Born out of a collaborative effort between Liberty and Stanlib, the move would enable expanded investment and growth for the portfolio, which included interests in assets such as the Sandton City Complex, the Eastgate Complex, Nelson Mandela Square and Melrose Arch, he added.
L2D also holds an interest in two regional shopping centres, namely Liberty Midlands Mall, in KwaZulu-Natal, and Liberty Promenade, in Mitchells Plain, in the Western Cape, along with the newly developed Botshabelo Mall, near Bloemfontein, and the John Ross Eco-Junction – Melomed development, which provided diversification and higher yield opportunities.
However, with tremendous redevelopment and renovation undertaken on the portfolio in recent times, Dloti noted that L2D was focusing on acquiring additional assets.
