Real estate investment trust (Reit) Liberty Two Degrees plans to list on the Diversified Real Estate Investment Trust sector of the main board of the JSE in early December, subject to market conditions and approval by the JSE.

Financial services company Liberty Holdings in August announced that it would list a portion of its property portfolio through the newly established Liberty Two Degrees Reit, which is led by CEO Amelia Beattie.

On listing, Liberty Two Degrees will own undivided shares in the Liberty property portfolio valued at about R6-billion, or 22% of the total.

Liberty Two Degrees will co-own predominantly retail real estate assets in South Africa. In Johannesburg, interests will include the Sandton City complex, the Eastgate complex and Nelson Mandela Square.

Other retail assets are two regional shopping centres, being Liberty Midlands Mall, in KwaZulu-Natal, and Liberty Promenade, in Mitchells Plain, in the Western Cape, the mixed-use precinct of Melrose Arch, in Johannesburg, and the newly developed Botshabelo Mall, in the Free State.

In addition to the offices included in the main retail complexes, Liberty Two Degrees will co-own select office properties located in key business nodes with blue-chip anchor tenants. These properties include the Standard Bank Centre, in Johannesburg, the Liberty Centre in Century City Office Park, in Cape Town, and Liberty Centre, in Umhlanga Ridge, Durban.

Beattie said the Reit was the result of a collaborative effort between Liberty and asset manager Stanlib. “It unlocks value for existing customers and provides an alternative way to invest in quality property assets through the listed equity market environment.

“We have already identified investment opportunities and new developments in quality assets, focusing on South Africa in the first instance.

“The portfolio will be managed by the same team that was previously within Stanlib and who have managed the Liberty property portfolio for many years. This team has a proven record and the necessary expertise to successfully deliver sustainable long-term returns to the unitholders of Liberty Two Degrees,” she added.

Liberty Two Degrees will be ungeared on listing and will be able to take on debt to fund future acquisitions.

In the short term, Liberty Two Degrees’ growth strategy will be focused on South Africa. Growth is expected to come from a select number of identified high-quality acquisition targets, as well as from Liberty Two Degrees’ current development pipeline.

Liberty Holdings and Liberty Two Degrees are in discussions to acquire an iconic property that is aligned to the Liberty property portfolio and the Liberty Two Degrees investment strategy.