Ascension lists on JSE's main board

Ascension Properties‚ a substantially black-owned property loan stock company‚ has made its debut on the Real Estate sector of the JSE's Main Board.

The company listed its A- and B-linked units at R3.80 and R1.90 per linked unit respectively on Monday and raised R374 million during a private placement to selected investors prior to the listing.

Ascension currently owns a portfolio of nine office properties in Gauteng and the Western Cape valued at approximately R524.1 million and has entered into agreements to acquire a further eight properties‚ valued at R457.2 million.

CEO Ashraf Mohamed says that the acquisitions will boost the company’s initial growth and foresees both organic and acquisitive growth for Ascension.

"We intend to achieve organic growth through the renovation of vacant portions of some of our existing properties with the intention to secure further anchor tenants and maximise earnings‚" he explains.

Ascension aims to develop into a multi-billion Rand fund over the next few years. The asset management function of the company is undertaken by the asset manager‚ whereas the property management function is outsourced on market related terms.

Assuming that the planned acquisitions are concluded next month‚ Ascension is expecting to report revenue of R182 million and operating profit of R125.5 million for the year ending 30 June 2012.

The proceeds of the private placement will be utilised primarily to fund the acquisition of the new properties and to reduce debt.