Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa May/June 2015 | Page 45

FINANCE

New Property Funds

launched
New Funds To Drive
Entrepreneurial Investment

BY NAZEEM MARTIN

T

wo new specialised Small and Medium
Enterprise (SME) Funds for the property
sector, namely a Property and Property
Joint Venture Fund, both aimed at driving property
ownership and enabling entrepreneurs to grow their
equity base have been launched.
The Business Partners Property Fund makes R200
million available to provide affordable finance for
SMEs across all industries, allowing business owners
to purchase or refinance their own business premises.
No deposit is required for this type of funding, and the
Fund will offer 100% financing to qualifying businesses.
“Generally, conventional financiers require a cash
deposit before financing a property deal. The Property
Fund will cater to entrepreneurs with viable operating
businesses, in existence for over three years, who wish
to purchase their own premises but who have limited
capital or security to contribute, or who do not want
to compromise their business’ cash resources for the
deposit,” says Nazeem Martin, Managing Director at
Business Partners Limited.
Calculations show that by purchasing property for
a business premises, business owners can save up to
50% over a decade on the costs of premises, without
compromising the business’ cash resources.
Meanwhile, the R250 million Business Partners
Joint Venture Property Fund will provide equity or
term finance, or a combination of both, for the purchase
of a multi-tenanted commercial, industrial or retail
property valued between R2 million and R120 million.
Property investments in good, risk adjusted locations
– those offering good growth and return on investment,
www.reimag.co.za

preferably in metropolitan areas – will be considered
for this fund.
Property investors are able to play an active role
in managing the investment, but can choose to be
a passive investor. The Fund will consider a viable
property investment that has been over-geared and
requires a restructuring of the existing debt, converting
from a debt to equity finance model.

“Business owners can save up
to 50% over a decade on the
costs of premises.”
The specialised funds form part of the company’s
Square Peg Movement – a campaign aimed at
providing further funding, support and me