Texton Property Fund: Babcock House bought for R48m

TEXTON Property Fund had acquired Babcock House in Osborne Lane in Bedfordview for R48.326 million in cash, the listed real estate investment trust with a heavy office sector weighting reported on Friday. Texton acquired the building through the acquisition of the entire share capital of Nungu Trading 88 through a sale of shares and claims agreement. Texton said this AAA grade property was tenanted by Babcock Ntuthuko Engineering on a triple net lease at a net rental of R80 a square metre escalating at 9 percent a year and had a remaining term of four years and 10 months with an option to renew for a further two years. The acquisition would yield 9.35 percent. Texton added that ownership of the AAA grade 3 404m2 Quintiles building in Bloemfontein, which it had purchased for R47.5m, had been transferred to the firm on Thursday. The Naidoo portfolio, consisting of a Scott Street building in Waverley, Johannesburg and a St George’s Mall property in Cape Town, was transferred to Texton on Thursday. It paid R107.8m for the Scott Street building and R21.1m for the St George’s Mall property. Shares in Texton closed unchanged at R10.10 on the JSE on Friday. – Roy Cokayne