Property

Owner of South Africa’s most popular mall shoots the lights out

Luke Fraser

 ·16 Sep 2025

Mall of Africa owner Attacq has seen a massive rise in earnings for the 2025 financial year ended 30 June 2025. 

Attacq is a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) that owns and operates Waterfall City in Midrand, Johannesburg, and is home to Mall of Africa and industrial, residential and commercial properties. 

The group’s distributable income per share, a standard measure for the success of REITs, increased by 25.6% to 108.3 cents. 

The group’s earnings per share also rose 58.6% to 214.6 cents, while its headline earnings per share rose by 40.7% to 102.3 cents. 

The group upped its full-year dividend per share by 26.1% to 87 cents. 

The group noted that development activity, which includes developments under construction and approved pipeline developments, at Waterfall City reached 90,664 sqm, with a total cost of R2.3 billion. 

The group noted that the full financial year benefited from the Waterfall City transaction with the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF).

The GEPF bought a 30% stake in Waterfall City via an investment in Attacq Waterfall Investment Company (AWIC), the subsidiary holding the Waterfall City development rights, for R2.7 billion. 

The group added that this was the first full financial year impacted by the acquisition of the remaining 20% of Mall of Africa. Attacq now owns 100% of Mall of Africa. 

The purchase was funded from a combination of the MAS P.L.C. share disposal proceeds and additional debt. 

The group also disposed of the  Rest of Africa retail investments in exchange for a 4.47% interest in African-focused Lango Real Estate Limited. 

The group also installed 3.3MWp of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems, with renewable energy contributing 9.1% of the total energy mix.