Norbert Sasse, CEO of Growthpoint Properties.
S&P Dow Jones Indices has announced that Growthpoint Properties Australia (GOZ) will be included in the S&P/ASX 200 Index. South Africa’s largest JSE-listed REIT Growthpoint Properties has a 65% holding in GOZ.
GOZ will become a component of the S&P/ASX200 Index after market close on 19 June 2015.
Norbert Sasse, CEO of Growthpoint Properties, comments: “The S&P/ASX 200 Index is recognised as the institutional investable benchmark in Australia. GOZ’s inclusion is likely to drive an increase in underlying demand for its securities.”
In the six years since Growthpoint Properties acquired a controlling stake in GOZ in 2009, it has grown and evolved to become a large, liquid security.
Before Growthpoint’s investment in 2009, GOZ’s market capitalisation was A$50 million. Today this publicly traded ASX-listed A-REIT’s market capitalisation has increased to A$1.8 billion. GOZ’s share price has increased three-fold in ZAR terms during this time. Its assets have grown from A$650 million to A$2.3 billion. Its portfolio has been diversified from pure industrial property to a balance of office and industrial properties, and grown to 53 real estate assets. Its portfolio now also enjoys greater diversification across all Australian states.
GOZ’s S&P/ASX 200 Index inclusion follows its entry into the S&P/ASX 300 Index in September 2014 and the MSCI Global Small Cap Index (Asia-Pacific Region) in May 2015.
Sasse says: “Our investment in GOZ has delivered excellent performance for Growthpoint, and we intend to continue to support its growth. From being a distressed company in dire need of recapitalising in 2009, GOZ has grown into a formidable property business in Australia, and its S&P/ASX 200 Index inclusion is testament to this.”
Growthpoint is a JSE ALSI Top 40 Index company. It owns and manages a diversified portfolio of 477 properties in South Africa, and a 50% interest in the properties at V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, as well as its holding in GOZ. Its combined assets are valued at nearly ZAR100 billion.