Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa May/June 2019 | Page 41

COMMERCIAL
Five great reasons to invest in
commercial property:
1. Higher Income Potential:
Purchase prices and annual rental
returns are higher with more sourc-
es of rental income such as parking,
advertising, etc.
2. Stronger Tenant Relationships:
Owners of commercial properties
are companies, and operate the
property as a business which makes
landlord/ tenant relationships more
business focused.
3. More Objective Price Evalu-
ations: Property prices tend to
The Public Investment Corporation
(PIC) has increased its beneficial
shareholding in Texton Property
Fund, growing its stake in the
JSE-listed SA REIT from 5.2% to a
significant 18.9%.
With its amplified interest, it has
now become Texton’s largest share-
holder. Marius Muller, CEO of Tex-
ton, says, ‘The PIC is a long-standing
shareholder of Texton and we look
forward to continuing to work
closely with them and all sharehold-
ers on our journey towards positive
performance.’
Atterbury, the leading South African
real estate developer and investor,
has taken the next step in its lead-
ership succession plan, restructur-
ing and realigning its executive
management.
Atterbury founded a European busi-
ness in 2014 effectively managed
from the Netherlands by CEO Henk
Deist. Armond Boshoff has been
appointed CEO of Atterbury (South-
ern Africa) after serving 15 months
as Deputy CEO and before that as
Head: Corporate Finance and Trea-
FINANCING
be more accurate based on cap
rates and current owner’s income
statements.
4. Triple Net Leases: There are
variations to triple net leases, but
commercial owners tend to pay
less expenses from utilities to other
expenses compared to residential
owners.
5. More Flexibility with Leases:
Fewer consumer protection laws
govern commercial leases, unlike
the dozens of residential laws, such
as security deposit limits and lease
termination regulations.
Texton is a diversified JSE-listed
REIT with total property assets
valued at R5.2bn at 31 December
2018 split 61.8% by value in South
African assets and 38.2% in the UK.
It invests in assets ranging from
offices, industrial and logistics
facilities to retail properties in South
Africa.
In the United Kingdom (UK),
Texton’s investment strategy targets
high-yielding, single-tenant proper-
ties in strong secondary nodes.
sury at Atterbury Europe. Former
CEO Louis van der Watt will become
Group CEO. Both appointments are
effective from 2019.
Louis will retain a key strategic role
in growing Atterbury’s property
asset base in Southern Africa and
Europe. Commenting on the lead-
ership changes, Louis says: ‘We’re
thrilled to appoint Armond as CEO.
His expertise, business experience
and knowledge of Atterbury are
invaluable to its future.’
SA Real Estate Investor Magazine MAY/JUNE 2019
39