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Johannesburg - The Futuregrowth Community Property Fund’s (CPF) objective is to invest in shopping malls in townships and rural areas with the aim of delivering long-term stable returns together with sustainable social impact.
Currently the portfolio has eight shopping malls in Gauteng alone worth R1.65bn.
Launched in 1996 the Community Property Fund has acquired, funded and developed more than 30 properties and the current portfolio comprises 24 centres in seven provinces.
The flagship centre in the Gauteng portfolio is the Alexandra Mall in Wynberg, with an average occupancy rate of 90.5%. All the shopping malls owned by the fund provide retail services to an LSM 2–5 consumer base.
The Gauteng centres vary in size between 9 075m² and 21 596m² and, like all the fund’s malls, are typically tenanted by supermarkets, clothing, banking, and hardware retailers. The national tenants, franchise, large and listed tenants occupy on average 85% of the space across the shopping centres.
The properties currently employ on average 85% of staff (including retailer and centre management staff), directly from the surrounding communities.
Rate payments from the new shopping centres have also contributed to greater municipal infrastructure development.
Futuregrowth product manager Smital Rambhai said the CPF was a moderate risk vehicle that provided stable, long-term returns with low volatility and a low correlation with financial markets.
“The Fund appeals to investors’ social concerns while at the same time provides solid investment returns - benchmarked at CPI +4% before taxes and fees and with income reinvested over a rolling three-year period,” he said.
The properties are managed by Capital Land Property Management, which handles institutional property portfolios.
