THE real estate investment trust of South Africa’s largest self-storage property fund, Stor-Age Property, successfully debuted on the JSE last month, following a substantially oversubscribed prelisting capital raise.

More than 287 300 shares traded in the first half-hour at an aggregate value of more than R3.8-million. The listing of the R1.3-billion portfolio of self-storage properties is the first of its kind in South Africa.

Stor-Age is a highly specialised property fund focused on the fast- growing self-storage sector, a niche subsector of the broader commercial property market.

The company provides self-storage solutions across 32 properties, which are differentiated by their high visibility to passing traffic, easy access from busy arterial routes and proximity to middle- and upper- income suburbs.

Given the significant prelisting demand for the stock, the board exercised its discretion to up the capital raise. A final total of R1.02-billion was raised against the initial target of R715-million, primarily through select institutional investors.

Speaking at the listing, Stor-Age CEO Gavin Lucas said that the bulk of the R907-million would be used to reduce the company’s gearing to a loan-to-value level of about 10%.

“The remaining R112-million will be used to settle sale proceeds owing to partners Growthpoint Properties and Fairstore Trust, which sold their respective 100% and 68% interest in Stor-Age to accommodate the prelisting capital raise,” he explained.

The positive response to the company’s private placement affirmed the strength of its business differentiators and prospects, Lucas added.

He said that the market understood that Stor-Age operated in a recession-resilient niche property sector with high growth potential, which provided investors with an attractive first-time investment opportunity.

Lucas pointed out that Stor-Age’s key objective would deliver an attractive income stream from a portfolio of high-quality self-storage properties with potential for income and capital growth.