Balwin Properties intends to list on JSE from mid-October

Sectional housing development specialist, Balwin Properties, said on Tuesday that it intends to list on the JSE in the middle of October as it looks to benefit from demand for housing in SA.

The fund would become only the second residential asset property fund to list on the JSE, following on from Indluplace Properties.

Balwin plans to raise about R1.5bn ($110m) for the listing.

But various analysts have said that some small listings have struggled to attract shareholder support after listing at relatively low market capitalisations.

Balwin focuses on large-scale sectional-title residential estates in high-growth, high-density metropolitan nodes in South Africa’s major cities.

Since its establishment in 1996, Balwin has developed, marketed and sold over 70 residential estates comprising some 13,500 residential units, the bulk of which were delivered since large-scale operations began in 2005.

CEO and founder Stephen Brookes said he was listing at an opportune time.

“Our listing is an exciting and important next phase in the evolution of Balwin. Listing on the JSE will grant us access to the capital markets and enhance our profile. It will also support our strong development pipeline and geographical expansion,” he said.

“Our developments appeal to a cross section of buyers, offering secure, high-quality, spacious and environmentally friendly one-, two- and three-bedroom residential apartments conveniently located in key nodes with on-site lifestyle amenities including restaurants, a club-house, sport and entertainment facilities,” he said.

Grindrod Asset Management chief investment officer Ian Anderson said: “Generally, new funds have all delivered in terms of investor expectations for distributions and distribution growth.

“But in terms of price action, most funds are actually trading at discounts to net asset value.

“From that we can conclude, the most recent listings have been unable to capture the attention of investors and have not been able to attract fund flows away from the established companies in the sector like Hyprop and the Resilient group of companies.”