Industrial property's revival lifts Equites

By Alistair Anderson

Industrial-focused property investment fund and developer Equites Property Fund (EQU) is on track to maintain strong distributions in 2015‚ CEO Andrea Taverna-Turisan said on Friday.

Equites released its financial results for the six months to August‚ having listed in June this year‚ in which it made a 20.4c per share distribution.

Mr Taverna-Turisan said Equites raised R650m in a private placing of shares with local institutional investors and then bought three properties.

“When we listed‚ industrial property was not as en vogue as it is now. The unlisted funds have had an interest but now listed property funds are also looking for industrial assets too‚” he said.

Retailers were renting storage space for online shopping. Light manufacturing companies were also looking to rent industrial space.

“Funds are definitely looking at industrial properties more closely.

“Transnet’s improvements to our port infrastructure have helped tremendously so far and with that investment the demand for storage by ports will increase‚” Growthpoint Properties divisional director of its industrial portfolio Engelbert Binedell said.

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