Increase likely for Tradehold value

Investment company Tradehold, which is controlled by Christo Wiese, will report a marked value uplift for the six months to the end of August. A trading update released on Friday indicated that Tradehold’s tangible net asset value was expected to increase 45.5%-60.5% to £1.27£1.40 per share.

Investment company Tradehold, which is controlled by retail tycoon Christo Wiese, will report a marked value uplift for the six months to end-August.

A trading update released on Friday indicated that Tradehold’s tangible net asset value (NAV) was expected to increase 45.5%60.5% to £1.27-£1.40 per share.

The reporting is poundbased because the bulk of the company’s assets are domiciled in the UK.

Translated into rand, Tradehold’s tangible NAV is R22.80R25.14 a share compared with a JSE share price of R18.40.

Tradehold is a propertybased investment and development company mainly with real estate holdings in the UK, SA and various African countries.

The main properties in the UK include a share of the Broad Street Mall in Reading and the Market Place in Bolton.

Tradehold also owns The Boutique Workplace Company (TBWC), a serviced office space provider in the UK.

But there is a growing financial services niche with interests in UK-based specialist lender Rewards as well as local financial services hub Mettle.

Tradehold indicated earlier in 2017 that plans were afoot to split off the much smaller financial services operations into a separate listing to unlock value for shareholders.

The financial services assets are set to be reversed into VestIn, a shell company listed on the Bermuda Stock Exchange and the JSE.

This move would enable Tradehold to be viewed as a pure property play with a focus mainly on the UK and South African markets.

Earlier in October, Tradehold bolstered its UK property portfolio by acquiring — via subsidiary Moorgarth Holdings — two properties in Chalton Street in London for R237m. TBWC will rent these properties.

There are two tenants occupying 59% of the space in the Chalton Street properties, but these leases are due to terminate within 12 months.

Tradehold indicated that the vacant portions of the properties would be refurbished, meaning it would be about five months before TBWC can rent the refurbished portion.

At the time of the deal, Tradehold CEO Friedrich Esterhuyse said the Chalton Street properties were in an attractive area of London — close to Euston and King’s Cross stations.

The properties had good capital growth potential and were well suited for occupation by TBWC, he said.