Woodlands Square in Tampa, Florida
Emira Property Fund on Thursday announced that it has grown its portfolio in the US to five value-orientated assets in thriving states.
The JSE-listed real estate investment trust co-invests in the US with its in-country partner, Rainier Group of Companies.
The deal – an equity investment into a grocery-anchored dominant shopping centre in the US – adds to the value and quality of Emira’s equity in its US retail portfolio, raising it from $32-million to $45-million.
Emira’s US retail property exposure is now 4.3% of its total portfolio, up from 3.1%. This places Emira well on track to achieve its goal of 8% of its total assets in the US by June 2019.
Further, Emira’s first investment in this US state, Woodlands Square in Tampa, Florida, is prospering with a growing population of high-income earners. Emira acquired 49% of the equity in Woodlands Square, which includes a lifestyle component, combining convenience shopping, entertainment and leisure.
The entire 314 699 square foot centre was recently refurbished and is 96% occupied by tenants on long leases with a weighted average length of 8.5 years.
The investment represents an asset yield of 7.6% signifying the underlying superior quality of the purchase with an ultimate cash-on-cash return to Emira of 10.3% a year in dollars.
The total purchase consideration for Woodlands Square was $64-million.
Emira CEO Geoff Jennett said each of Emira’s US retail assets has been acquired in an attractive deal and believes that this one is “particularly well-suited to Emira’s US investment strategy”.
“We will continue to grow the portfolio incrementally and hope to announce further deals in coming months as we make progress with our identified acquisition pipeline,” he added.