REIZ Plc completes US$65mn acquisition of Zambia malls
The deal is part of a corporate restructure which aims to create Zambia's first REIT
LUSAKA, ZAMBIA - Real Estate Investments Zambia (REIZ) Plc, the sole real estate company listed on the Lusaka Securities Exchange (LuSE), has announced the acquisition of three shopping malls for a sum total of US$65mn. The deal is part of a corporate restructure which aims to create Zambia's first real estate investment trust (REIT).
Acacia Park, Jacaranda Mall, and Lewanika Mall, join REIZ Plc from LM&C Properties Limited, a real estate development company owned by businessman Diego Casilli. Casilli owns nearly 60% of REIZ Plc via LM&C Properties Limited.
"These assets were identified on the basis that they have quite substantial cashflows, are in very good locations, […] and are anchored by very good tenants on long-term leases," REIZ Plc CEO Kambeu Banda told Capital Markets Africa in November 2023.
He continued, ‘We also had to look at what we could do to sell off [our underperforming] assets as well as rehabilitate one of our biggest ones which is Arcades Shopping Centre. Sandwiched between East Park Mall and Manda Hill Mall, it was very difficult for Arcades to compete just as a retail centre. So we are looking into different strategies including turning it into a lifestyle centre.’
REIZ Plc is turning a corner from a troubled recent past. A rights issue in 2022 enabled the company to raise US$12 million to finance a 50% cash settlement for a restructured corporate bond. After a torrid 2021 when the company recorded a loss of 324.5 million Zambian kwacha, representing a 985% fall on the previous year, REIZ Plc shareholders agreed that the rights issue be underwritten by LM&C Properties Limited.
Through that process, LM&C Properties Limited became the majority shareholder in REIZ with a 59.79% stake. Casilli joined the REIZ board in January 2023 and Banda was appointed CEO in August 2023.
Earlier this month, REIZ Plc announced that Rory Mackey and Samson Mojalefa of SA Corporate Real Estate Limited had joined the company as non-executive directors. Mackey and Mojalefa serve as CEO and Head of Corporate Finance, respectively, at SA Corporate Real Estate Limited.
SA Corporate Real Estate Limited, which is a listed REIT on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), owns 50% of Premier LM&C Mauritius Limited, which in turn owns 99.9% of LM&C Properties Limited.
© Capital Markets Africa, 2024
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