Metope In The News

When Poland-focused property company Echo Polska Properties (EPP) listed on the JSE in September last year, investors probably overlooked it for larger counters already on the local bourse. EPP’s JSE-debut came weeks after the listing of offshore counters Hammerson Properties and Globe Trade Centre – at a time when concerns grew in the asset management industry about the limited investor pool of capital to support the flurry of new listings. Among others, these factors have seen EPP’s share price shed 21% since listing.  

The timing of Echo Polska Properties’ (EPP) listing in mid-September last year was unfortunate. The JSE debut of the purely Polish property play followed a strong rebound in the rand and came after Britain’s decision to exit the EU. It also coincided with a new-listings fatigue that seems to have set in among fund managers due to the sheer number of new JSE real estate counters vying for investors’ capital in 2015/2016. However, analysts believe the company’s investment case remains compelling.

Fortress Income Fund continues to be one of the darlings of the listed property sector and is expected to once more deliver double-digit, sector-beating returns for owners of its B shares. The top 40 stock has soared after its takeover of Capital Property Fund about a year-and-a-half ago and was now well positioned to handle local and offshore shocks, fund managers said.

Investors may no longer be queuing up to take a bet on the African growth story. But not everyone has cut their losses and turned their backs on the continent. Bronwyn Corbett, who heads Mara Delta, the JSE’s first pure pan-African focused property counter, remains bullish on Africa’s growth prospects.