{"id":874927,"date":"2026-09-11T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T07:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=874927"},"modified":"2026-09-11T10:06:52","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T08:06:52","slug":"popular-cape-town-shopping-mall-sold-for-r422-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/874927\/popular-cape-town-shopping-mall-sold-for-r422-million\/","title":{"rendered":"Popular shopping mall in South Africa sold for R422 million"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Spear REIT has acquired the Watergate Centre, a shopping centre located in Mitchells Plain, for R422 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This centre features major retailers such as Shoprite, Capitec, PEP, and Mr Price. This purchase is part of Spear\u2019s recent acquisitions in the Western Cape, which total R1.4 billion.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The transaction has generated R1 billion in new equity for the group and demonstrated strong rental growth over the six months leading up to July.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spear REIT owns 42 properties across its portfolio, all located in the Western Cape, with the vast majority in the Greater Cape Town metropole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of these locations include 2 Long Street in <\/strong>the Cape Town CBD, which is a high-rise office building near the City’s financial and business centre.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another location is Sable Square Shopping Centre in Century City\/Milnerton, <\/strong>a retail and outlet hub situated along Bosmansdam Road.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group also owns <\/strong>Maynard Mall in Wynberg, <\/strong>which <\/strong>is a regional shopping centre in the Southern Suburbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spear’s growth strategy included two significant transactions during this period: the acquisition of the Watergate Centre in Mitchells Plain and 1 Sportica Crescent in Tygervalley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together, these properties were acquired for a total of R1.402 billion and have recently been transferred, adding 48,169 m\u00b2 to the portfolio, with an average acquisition yield of 8.99%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Watergate Centre spans 19,681 m\u00b2 and is anchored by renowned national retailers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The investment offers an initial yield of 8.37%, a 24-month average lease duration, and a 6.70% scheduled rent increase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recent acquisition of 1 Sportica Crescent for R960 million adds 28,488 m\u00b2 of prime commercial space in Tygervalley. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This property is fully leased, has a 28-month average lease duration, and provides an initial yield of 9.67%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These two transactions significantly enhance the group\u2019s profile, especially in the Western Cape, where it aims to expand its presence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of July 2026, Spear’s asset portfolio is valued at R7.1 billion and includes 40 properties in the Western Cape, totalling about 625,610 m\u00b2 of lettable space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since acquiring the Watergate Centre and the Santam Precinct, the portfolio’s value has grown to R8.4 billion, with approximately 670,000 m\u00b2 of property. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These transactions are expected to boost earnings, but their impact is not yet reflected in the current earnings guidance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spear’s financial results in good shape<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Spear CEO Quintin Rossi, Mambos Executive Santos Francesco, Mambos CEO Demetre Nikolopoulos, Spear Head of Leasing James Bylos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Spear aims to increase its distribution per share (DIPS) by 6%-8% for fiscal year 2027 compared to fiscal year 2026, while maintaining a payout ratio of 95%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This success is driven by 6.78% rental increases, 6.92% average lease escalations, a 96.37% occupancy rate, and 99% cash collections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far this year, the group’s revenue has grown by 28.29%, and net operating income has risen by 29.41%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spear CEO Quintin Rossi noted that the strong first-half performance demonstrates the resilience of their portfolio and the strength of their Western Cape strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have continued to grow through acquisitions while maintaining strong operational metrics and a conservative balance sheet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe enter the second half with considerable momentum and a clear pipeline for further value creation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spear\u2019s balance sheet is strong for future growth, with a loan-to-value ratio of 7.48% and an interest coverage ratio of 6.02 times at the end of July. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After setting aside funds for acquisitions, the group has about R800 million in available liquidity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In April, Spear raised R1 billion through a rapid fundraising effort, and in June, it raised an additional R108 million through its dividend reinvestment program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe capital raise has given Spear the flexibility to pursue growth without compromising the strength of the balance sheet,\u201d said Spear REIT\u2019s CFO, Christiaan Barnard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur focus remains firmly on acquisitions and developments that are earnings accretive and aligned with our Western Cape strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spear\u2019s industrial portfolio is performing well, with an occupancy rate of 97.98% and a 14.32% rent increase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retail occupancy is 97.17%, up 7.88%, while commercial occupancy is 90.24%, up 4.26%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group invested R140 million in new industrial developments and signed a new 10-year lease with Mambos Storage & Home for a 7,150 m\u00b2 warehouse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are also new development opportunities in George and Blackheath. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spear also sold Hamilton & Chiappini House for R107 million, achieving a 33% premium to its original acquisition price in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photos of Watergate Centre<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Watergate Centre in Cape Town has been sold to Spear REIT.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":874949,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2098313357296078912","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2202166667270399","_sma_instagram_post_id":"18086569943678493","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[2279,25221,25220],"class_list":["post-874927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-cape-town","tag-spear-reit","tag-watergate-centre"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/874927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=874927"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/874927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":874973,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/874927\/revisions\/874973"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/874949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=874927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=874927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=874927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}