With a robust portfolio of over 20 properties in major cities and towns, Prime Properties registered a strong revenue growth in 2015, bolstering the sustained growth recorded over the past five years.
In its recently released annual report, Prime Properties cite the inclusion of a full year’s income from Barclays new head office at Prime Plaza as a significant contributor to the growth in revenue. Barclays Bank Botswana relocated to its current head office at Prime Plaza in February last year. The Prime Plaza is grade A office accommodation which according to the report is fully let. The report lists Barclays, CEDA, GIZ, Cresta Hotels, Arup and Stock Brokers Botswana as the office accommodation’s principal occupiers. Based on the report between 2011 and 2014 the property outfit doubled its revenue. With its Pilane Crossing mall due to be completed mid 2016, Prime Properties is likely to experience a boost in its revenue, maintaining its growth streak. It lists Choppies, FNB, Clicks, Jet, Mr Price, PEP as the mall’s principal occupiers.
The sectoral profile by rental income for the year ended 31st August 2015 shows that office space constitutes the highest share at 53 percent followed by Retail and industrial at 45 percent and 2 percent respectively. In comparison to 2014, Office increased by 8 percentage point from 45 percent whereas Retail declined by the same percentage point, falling from 53 percent to 45 percent. The industrial segment however remained unchanged at 2 percent. Prime Properties depicts a trend that contrasts the 2014 IPD Botswana Annual Property Consultative Index which cite that “the top performing sector for 2014 was industrial property which delivered a total return of 16.8% on the back of solid capital growth of 5.9% and income return of 10.3%. The retail, office and residential sectors (a combined weighting of 83% in the index) all delivered between 10% and 11% total return.” According to MSCI the Index, first launched in 2012, was sponsored by Botswana Insurance Fund Management (BIFM) and was based on asset level data collected from six leading local property investment portfolios. “The index measures ungeared total returns to directly held standing property investments from one open market valuation to the next and covered BWP 3.3bn capital value at the end of December 2014,” cites MSCI. The Index summarized that the Botswana investment property sector delivered an ungeared total return of 11.5% in 2014 – down from 21.5% in 2013.
