Property franchise division unveiled

With improved stability, policy and infrastructure, and with the right collaboration, prospects for real estate investment appear strong.

It is in this positive climate that Liberty Properties sponsored the milestone 10th Annual Investment Property Databank Property Investment Conference in Cape Town this month.

Says company CEO Samuel Ogbu: "Commercial property as an asset class remains convincing, particularly now with African capital markets maturing and the demand for property development on the continent growing across the retail, commercial and hospitality spectrum."

He said that a forum of this nature was critical to ensure commercial property investors remained abreast of current trends in a shifting marketplace.

Liberty Properties also took the opportunity at the conference to introduce its latest offering - the Direct Property Investment Franchise - a new investment franchise created by migrating the asset management arm of Liberty Properties to its asset management unit, Stanlib.

Ogbu said the migration was the result of a decision to house all the Liberty Group's asset management capabilities with its asset manager. He said that by combining Liberty's investment in premium property assets with Stanlib's investment capabilities (including in-house research resources and best-practice governance structures) "we are optimising our ability to invest in direct property in SA and the rest of Africa for both the Liberty Group and third parties".

Ogbu said the listed and direct property mandates at Stanlib were distinctly segregated to manage any possible conflicts.

The Listed Property Franchise, headed by Keillen Ndlovu, invests in listed property companies, while the Direct Property Investments Franchise's focus is in the management of underlying property portfolios and funds, whether listed or unlisted.

The unit had assets under management in excess of R27bn, the group said.

Source: Business Day