Heriot to bring R4.1bn assets to listing on AltX

Heriot Properties is listing as a real estate investment trust on the JSE Alternative Exchange after two decades of trading as a private entrepreneurial group.

The firm, founded by Steven Herring, will list with assets worth about R4.1bn and a net asset value of about R2.515bn. It will trade as Heriot Reit and pay half-yearly distributions.

Heriot was founded in 1998 to grow a property portfolio that generated sustainable long-term cash flows from blue-chip tenants. The group initially invested in the industrial sector and was underpinned by triple net, longterm leases that facilitated quick growth of its asset base. As at the last practical date, Heriot holds 20 industrial properties valued at R1.582bn.

In 2003, it diversified its portfolio with the development of a 1,500m retail centre. Now, 14 years later, Heriot, through its subsidiaries, owns 12 retail centres with an area of 119,981m in central business districts, townships and rural areas that focus on the mass market, bringing shopping to the people.

"The centres, valued at R2.087bn, are anchored by a high percentage of national tenants with long-term leases and high trading densities that ensure the sustainability of our cash flows," said Herring.

Source: Business Day