Dipula Income Fund announced that it has
agreed to acquire the Gillwell Taxi Retail
Park development in the East London CBD,
situated in the Buffalo City Metropolitan
Municipality of the Eastern Cape province.
The development gained planning permission in
December 2013 and this transaction will become effec-
tive after the centre’s construction is complete, in the
first half of 2015.
Dipula agreed to purchase the 21 521 m
2
three-level shopping
centre development fromdevelopers Isibonelo Property Services
and Eris Property Group. It has also agreed to give Isibonelo the
option to acquire a stake in this retail centre.
Izak Petersen, CEO of Dipula says:“The property meets Dipu-
la’s strategy of acquiring larger, quality retail assets in targeted
areas and improves the overall quality of our portfolio.”
He adds: “The Gillwell Taxi Retail Park development is a well
located retail site in the retail hub of East London’s CBD. For
Dipula, it represents sustainable income growth underpinned
by major national retailers.”
Leases are being finalised with the centre’s anchor retailers
Game and Shoprite.
The transaction is subject to various conditions, including
80% of the development’s retail space being pre-let and rental
guarantees on any unlet space.
As part of the transaction, Isibonelo and Eris will develop the
centre and will also undertake its management for its first two
years from opening.
Dipula is a JSE-listed SA REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust)
with one of the highest BEE ratings in the sector. Dipula’s asset
base comprises a growing portfolio of 181 commercial proper-
ties valued in excess of R4-billion spanning some 577 340 m
2
of gross lettable area.
Its portfolio is geographically diverse across all of South
Africa’s provinces, with more than 70% concentrated in South
Africa's most economically productive province of Gauteng.
Dipula’s portfolio inclines towards retail property at more than
50% by rentable area of its portfolio, which also includes office
and industrial property assets. South African retail property has
outperformed all other property subsectors in recent years and
this has served Dipula well.
“Besides meeting our growth strategy, the acquisition also
increases our exposure to the growth opportunities from
commuter retail in one of the busiest CBD’s in SA,” says Petersen.
Dipula is finalising the acquisition's financial effects and, until
these are announced, it has advised Dipula linked unitholders to
exercise caution when dealing in its linked units.
>
TAXI RETAIL PARK
DEVELOPMENT
