News

Liberty Two Degrees successfully lists on JSE’s Main Board

Liberty Two Degrees JSE Listing
From left to right: Thabo Dloti – Group Chief Executive for Liberty, Amelia Beattie – CEO Liberty Two Degrees, Peter Moyo – Chairman of Liberty Two Degrees & Seelan Goobalsamy – CEO Stanlib Asset Management.

Liberty Two Degrees successfully listed on the Main Board of the JSE, in the “Diversified REITs” sector, earlier this morning under the abbreviated name: “Liberty2D”, [JSE code: L2D] in a landmark listing for the Liberty Group.

On listing today, approximately R3.8 billion has been raised, comprising R3 billion at listing price to invited investors, and R780 million from Liberty Group Limited using new policyholders funds, who subscribed at a 5% discount to the listing price. The highly successful book build process included blue chip institutions and real estate specialists, as well as an allocation to retail investors.

Amelia Beattie, Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Two Degrees said: “Our journey to list Liberty Two Degrees on the JSE is a continuation of our legacy in innovation and investment leadership in property, dating back more than 40 years with the development of Sandton City. This is a landmark listing in the South African market featuring super regional and regional assets that are co-owned and managed by an experienced team who have been associated with this portfolio for the last decade. Listing this portfolio not only unlocks value for existing policyholders but also provides an alternative investment opportunity to investors and policyholders with an appetite for premium property assets in the listed environment.”

Donna Nemer, Director of Capital Markets at the JSE said: “The JSE is pleased to welcome Liberty Two Degrees to the property sector of the exchange’s Main Board. Today’s listing is the JSE’s 17th this year and it brings the number of listed property sector companies on the JSE to 63 in total, of which Liberty Two Degrees becomes the 52nd to list on the Main Board. The JSE’s real estate sector had a market cap of about R731 billion and constitutes some 5.5% of the overall JSE market cap at the end of November 2016. From the perspective of investors, the property sector is proving to be an interesting one and the JSE is pleased that the offering in this sector continues to grow.”

Thabo Dloti, Group Chief Executive of Liberty Holdings said: “The listing of a portion of our prestigious property portfolio is a proud moment for Liberty, and another milestone achieved in our strategy to deliver growth in alternative investment businesses. We believe the value proposition of this premier portfolio of properties will be attractive to investors and continue providing Liberty’s customers with an alternative investment that we think will significantly add to the dynamics of the listed property sector of the JSE.”

Beattie concludes: “The appeal of listed property is that it provides both an income stream and capital growth over time; today marks the start of the Liberty Two Degrees journey in the listed environment. We believe the defensive nature of the property assets underpinning the value of this portfolio will in time provide balanced returns and growth through evolving economic cycles.”