Dipula Income Fund, owner of regional and community retail assets such as the Norwood Centre and Sunninghill's Chilli Lane, says while it has taken a hit from higher borrowing costs, this hasn't put off its retail tenants, who are still in a drive for additional space.
The Gauteng-focused landlord reported on Wednesday that its distributable earnings decreased by 6.9% to R514.2 million in its year to end-August, with the group hit by an over 14% climb in finance costs to R314 million.
However, vacancies improved, notably among offices, with CEO Izak Petersen saying the group had a series of wins, including R190 million of disposals at a pleasing discount to book value, a successful restructuring of debt, as well as cost-containment efforts that helped it beat inflation a little.