Empowered real estate investment trust (Reit), Ascension Properties, grew its distributable earnings by R238.6m in the year to August.

This represented an 8.8% increase in the full year B-share distribution and a 5.9% increase in the full year A-share distribution. The growth performance of the B-share was in the midrange of management’s guidance of 8%-10%.

“Our performance is underpinned by Ascension’s highquality assets and the defensive nature of our tenant profile. The 28 assets in the portfolio is valued at an average of R150m each, and are located in nodes strategic to government tenants,” said CE Kameel Keshav.

Rebosis Property Fund is the majority shareholder in Ascension. Keshav is also Rebosis’ chief financial officer.

“During the period we focused extensively on reducing the vacancy rate, which came down from 5.8% in the prior year to 4.6% currently. Actual vacancies were at 22% when we took over ownership of the management company in 2015 which is greatly encouraging.”

Ascension announced during the financial year that it had concluded an agreement with Rebosis, to acquire all of the “A” shares that it did not already own in exchange for Rebosis “A” ordinary shares.

source: Business Day