Five South African REITS (real estate investment trusts) have been named among The Top Empowerment Companies of 2019 in this year’s The Empowerment Report.
In order of most empowered, the REITs are: Arrowhead Properties, Redefine Properties, Growthpoint Properties, Equites Property Fund, and Rebosis Property fund. According to the scorecards for the report, published by Intellidex with research by Empowerdex Research and Advisory, Arrowhead achieved 80.27% (total BEE score 68.23), Redefine 78.52% (91.87), Growthpoint 78.26% (91.26), Equites 70.98% (83.05) and Rebosis 57.08% (66.78).
Estienne de Klerk, Chairman of the SA REIT Association which represents South Africa’s JSE-listed REIT sector, notes the sector’s transformation leaders have achieved an impressive track record of driving best practice aligned with the Property Sector Charter.
De Klerk says: “Having five REITs among the most empowered companies from across all sectors of the South African economy proves that the REIT sector is playing an important role in economic transformation. We are acutely aware that with an active commitment to transformation, responsible and ethical business practices and good governance, SA REITs positively influence our economy and the lives of South Africans through their property assets.”
Commenting on the sector’s transformation journey progress so far, Chairman of the Property Sector Charter Committee of SA REIT, Shawn Theunissen, says: “The SA REIT sector is doing very well in several areas of transformation, and this can be seen especially in the scorecards of those REITs that are leading the drive to transform. That said, there are opportunities for the sector to do more, and we remain committed to furthering the transformation of South Africa, within SA REITs specifically and the property sector in general.”
SA REIT Association members comprise all publicly listed SA REITs – a sector with the market capitalisation of more than R300bn. As the unified voice of JSE-listed South African REITs, SA REIT plays a significant role for the sector. It provides advocacy in matters of common concern, prepares opinion and policy for interacting with stakeholders, represents the industry in meeting challenges within the sector, and boosts awareness of REITs as a unique asset class that creates and preserves wealth.
Creating a compelling platform for conversations around transformation and other vital issues for the sector, the SA REIT Association is presenting its one-day executive SA REIT Conference, sponsored by Nedbank CIB on 16 July 2020 at Summer Place, Johannesburg. More information is available at www.sareit.com.
