The company reports a pipeline of projects that will secure its next phase of expansion and names Lobatse Junction Mall, which is currently being built, among them
GAZETTE REPORTER
Rental income for Botswana Stock Exchange-listed property firm Prime Time Property Holdings Limited went up slightly by 3 percent from P145 million realised in 2019 to P149.5 million recorded at the year ending 31 December 2020, the company’s 2020 annual report shows.
According to a joint statement by Prime Time’s Chairperson Patronella Matumo and Managing Director Sandy Kelly in the report, the increase in rental income was due to additions of new properties to their portfolio. They say as the result of the increase, Prime Time’s value of investment property portfolio increased to over P1.5 billion.
The property firm’s portfolio consists of 22 completed properties in Botswana, six properties in Zambia and two in South Africa.
Matumo and Kelly note that 2020 was the most challenging year in Prime Time’s 13-year history because the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted business activity and personal lives on an unprecedented scale. “Despite this, the Group has proved remarkably resilient and ended the year well positioned to take advantage of opportunities as markets return to some semblance of normality,” they say in a statement.
They note that while rental income increased in the year under review, growth was below expectations as concessions had to be made due to the unique set of circumstances under which the company was operating. “Affected tenants were given discounts during the periods of government-imposed trading restrictions while many others were able to continue trading and meet their contractual rental obligations,” they say.
“We have seen an uptick in the last couple of months and Phase I of this development is now 75 percent let or under offer,” they note. “We anticipate Pinnacle Park to be 100% occupied by the middle of next year and will look to developing the second phase as soon as we are able to in what is emerging as a hot business node for Gaborone.”
The two Prime Time principals say Prime Time has an enviable pipeline of projects that will secure the company’s next phase of expansion. “The already underway Lobatse Junction Mall will complete in late 2021 and once fully operational will initially add around P9 million per annum of net income,” they say in the results. “The mall, located at the town’s busy bus and train terminals, will provide 8,900 sqm of prime retail stock in what will be the main shopping destination in a currently fragmented market with ageing stock.”