Empowered Calulo sees state deals on horizon
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Property Correspondent
THE managers of new listed property company Calulo Property Fund say they are confident they will be well positioned to attract significant government and parastatal business because of their strong empowerment credentials.
Calulo Property Fund CEO Richard Harman said on Tuesday that government had indicated it would give preference to landlords with black economic empowerment credentials. He said government had said it would be prepared to negotiate lease renewals of up to 10 years with such landlords, whereas lease renewals would be limited to five years in the absence of empowerment credentials.
`There are no other players in the market with full black economic empowerment credentials throughout the value chain,` said Harman.
In September last year, it was announced that Calulo Properties, a company controlled by empowerment group Calulo Investments, had agreed to buy 95,5% of the issued linked units in Annuity Property Fund, which was effectively a shell company with one property in its portfolio.
In November, it was announced that Annuity`s name would be changed to Calulo Property Fund.
Harman said Calulo Properties would hold a minimum 25,1% interest in the listed fund, a 50,1% stake in the fund`s asset managers, and 60% in its property managers.
`There are no other (property) players who have all three (empowerment) credentials in place and therefore we are ideally placed to take advantage of the developments that will flow from implementation of the property charter.`
Harman said Calulo Property Fund aimed to acquire properties at attractive prices with government and parastatal tenants that had short leases still to run. It would then use its credentials to negotiate longer leases.
Christian Hansen, head of private clients at Provest Management, said that Calulo Property Fund was `certainly well placed to get government and parastatal business`. He said it was too early to saywhether businesses that rented space from an empowered landlord would also benefit.
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