JSE-listed Polish property group EPP will sell its €300m office portfolio by the end of 2019 to focus on shopping centres.
CEO Hadley Dean said at the release of the financial results for the year to December that the group was on track to own 1-million square metres of retail by 2020, following the opening of the two new shopping centres in the country's capital, Warsaw. EPP wants to be the largest owner of shopping centres in Poland.
It wants to sell its office portfolio which includes six buildings worth nearly R5bn. It had a buyer in late 2018 but the suitor had financing problems. However, Dean said EPP had since received interest from other suitors.
EPP declared a dividend of €11.6c, 6.7% up from 2017, in line with its guidance of €11.6c to €11.8c.
During the reporting period, the company introduced several new properties to its portfolio and added 54% to its total space, which closed the year at 684,000m2, with vacancies of less than 1%.
At the end of December, EPP's portfolio included 19 retail assets worth about €2bn, the six office buildings and two development sites in Warsaw.
“We have experienced three consecutive years of growth now. We currently have 100-million people visiting our shopping centres each year. This number will rise significantly over the next two years,” said Dean.
EPP is expected to open a new mall called Galeria Mlociny, in Warsaw in June. It also plans to build a 230m² mixed-use property in that city.
“Our first major project for 2019 will be the opening of Galeria Mlociny, which is our flagship development in Warsaw. The capital is the most underserviced city in terms of retail exposure in Poland which is why we are involved in Mlociny and another in the city. Between 2007 and 2018 there were no retail developments, but EPP has managed to position itself so it is exposed to the city at the right time," he said.
Ahmed Motara, an analyst at Stanlib said EPP had quickly matured as a company.
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