Growthpoint Properties said Wednesday that it has issued R200 million of 3-month senior unsecured commercial paper (CP).

The strong appetite for Growthpoint Properties paper saw the interest margin (above the 3-month Jibar rate) again tightened to 33 basis points (0.33%) from previous levels of 39 bps in August, 45 bps in May 2010, 52 bps in February 2010 and 55 bps in November 2009, it said.

Growthpoint also issued R400 million of 6-month CP at 50 bps over Jibar, a tightening of 30 bps compared to the initial 6-month issue in November 2009 of 80 bps over Jibar.

Strong demand from investors resulted in the issues being 4.3 times over-subscribed, with total bids of over R2.5 billion received.

The demand for this issue continues to reinforce the success of Growthpoint's CP programme, the first for a South African listed property company, which was launched in November 2009.

Growthpoint Financial Director Stuart Snowball explained that the company's continued access to capital markets through CP holds advantages for Growthpoint, including the lowered average cost of borrowings and diversification of borrowing sources.

Growthpoint has a portfolio of 431 properties in South Africa valued at more than R30 billion, and a further 25 properties in Australia through its investment in Growthpoint Properties Australia (GOZ), valued at R4.9 billion.