Blue-chip mall owner Hyprop Investments says it might take a stake in Edcon to support the struggling group, which is Southern Africa’s biggest non-food retailer.
“New tenants have been secured for most of this space and Hyprop is confident of its ability to re-let the balance.”This “may include Hyprop subscribing for an equity interest in Edcon”. Hyprop said on Friday it grew distributable income by 5.6% to R985m in the six months to end-December as strong growth from its SA and European shopping centres was offset by a lacklustre performance in the rest of Africa.
Given the tough trading environment, “this performance bears testament to the high quality of the group’s SA property portfolio”.“The portfolio continues to exceed expectations with pleasing growth on the back of low vacancies and asset management initiatives,” Hyprop said.