INVESTEC PROPERTY FUND COLLECTS 71% OF APRIL RENTALS

INVESTEC Property Fund (IPF) said yesterday that 71 percent of April rentals from its properties in South Africa had been collected. In South Africa, and in many other international markets, commercial property companies and their shareholders have become concerned about rental collections in April, as many tenants, retailers in particular, were expected to be heavily impacted over the coming months, because of restrictive government regulations in response to Covid-19. IPF said in an update yesterday that of the remaining 29 percent of rents that were not collected in South Africa, 8 percent were tenants that had requested concessions, while the balance related largely to rent payable by national retailers still to be negotiated. The local retail portfolio comprises 83 percent national tenants, with the balance smaller independent retail businesses. IPF expected income loss in the short-term from the relief offered to small, medium and micro enterprises and non-essential businesses in the retail sector, based on guidelines proposed by the South African Property Industry Group. Discussions with these national retailers was ongoing. In Europe, performance had been constrained by travel restrictions and the closing of borders, but there was still movement of goods and people. There was consensus in the media that the logistics sector would profit, at least from an occupational perspective, from an expected uptick in e-commerce and supply chain reconfiguration.