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Business Reporter

PROPERTY company, Tigere Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), has been licensed and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe (SECZim), paving way for its listing on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) by end of September.

Tigere REIT will operate under the Collective Investment Schemes Act [Chapter 24:19], as recently amended, and investors in the fund can expect income tax benefits, cashflows through dividends (a legislated minimum 80 percent distribution of net income paid to unit holders), and a well-managed property portfolio with quality US dollar-linked rental income, Tigere REIT director Mr Brett Abrahamse said.

The company has over 85 percent of its tenants on US dollar-linked leases through either base rental or turnover and this provides “great hard currency investment,” he said.

Following 12 months of construction, phase one of the Highland Park Shopping Centre was officially opened on June 29, 2022.

The new upmarket shopping centre features Pick n Pay as the anchor tenant as well as many other high-quality tenants such as Cottage Bites, TV Home & Sales, Café Nush, Licorice, Optinova, Veldemeers, HTown Gelato, Pariah State, Café Paris among many others.

Highland Park is fully let and based on initial trading figures from the first few weeks, the asset should outperform “our original income estimates and ultimately benefit our investors as a result,” Abrahamse projects.

The other seed asset, Chinamano Corner in Harare is 95 percent complete. Tenants are in the process of store completion and the official opening is planned within the next two weeks.

As part of the build-up to the Initial Public Offering (IPO), the company offered early exposure to the Tigere REIT investment via a private placement of a convertible debenture to selected institutional investors.

“The response to the private placement has been good,” said Mr Abrahamse and the holders will be able to convert their debentures into units in the Tigere REIT once the IPO window opens.

“With that REIT IPO now on the horizon, we will soon reach the end of the debenture placement window,” said Mr Abrahamse.

“Should there be any investors that are yet to finalise their subscription or settle their private placement subscriptions, we urge them to do so while there is still time.

The IPO will open the issue to all investors and we are anticipating significant demand for Tigere REIT units or shares from other pension funds, asset managers as well the general public.

“The IPO is planned for late September 2022 and convertible debenture is currently the only pathway available for investors to secure a guaranteed allocation in the Tigere REIT ahead of                        listing.

“The ever-changing global economic landscape continues to challenge investment choices, and with current inflationary pressures, we firmly believe that well-located real estate provides a compelling solution to value preservation. “