Specialised shopping centre fund Hyprop Investments and capital growth fund Attacq reached an agreement to acquire 87% and 12.4% respectively of the issued shares in real estate investment company African Land Investments for a consideration of R768-million and R110-million.

The balance of 500 000 shares would be held by African Land CEO Kevin Teeroovengadum. As a result, African Land would not proceed with its proposed listing on the JSE or Lusaka Stock Exchanges, Hyprop said in a statement on Wednesday.

African Land owned the 44 000 m² Manda Hill Shopping Centre, in Lusaka, Zambia – the first regional shopping centre in Zambia and the largest in sub-Saharan Africa outside of South Africa.


The company would continue as a separate property entity with Teeroovengadum as CEO. Its strategic objective would be to grow its portfolio through well-considered acquisitions of predominantly existing retail properties in carefully selected areas offering above-average rental returns within the sub-Saharan African region outside South Africa.



Hyprop CEO Pieter Prinsloo said the acquisition “is an attractive investment and complementary to Hyprop's strategy of investing in high-quality shopping centres across Africa. African Land's strategy of acquiring existing income-producing properties supports Hyprop’s strategy and will provide the company with geographical diversification as well as further investment opportunities in Africa”.

The investment in African Land, together with Attacq, he added, would also complement Hyprop’s existing partnership with Attacq in Atterbury Africa – focused mainly on new developments.

Teeroovengadum said the investment by Hyprop and Attacq demonstrated the strength of the African Land story and the growing stature of the sub-Saharan African real estate market. “We are delighted to have attracted investors of this caliber. The expertise and networks that they bring will strengthen our efforts to meet African Land’s vision.”



African Land would engage with Zambian authorities and investors to provide Zambian investors with exposure to Manda Hill.