Orion eyes R1bn property constellation 
Nick Wilson

Property Correspondent

LISTED property company Orion Real Estate, formerly Alpina Investments, plans to increase its property portfolio from about R400m to about R1bn within the next 18 months.

Orion Real Estate, which came into being earlier this year through a reverse takeover of Alpina by the Gmeiner family’s Orion Group, is also looking to conclude an empowerment deal in the near future.

Orion Real Estate MD Franz Gmeiner said that the empowerment deal would see an empowerment partner obtaining a 10% equity stake.

Gmeiner said that he held a controlling stake in Orion Real Estate but that through the empowerment deal, an issue of new shares and new property deals, this stake would be diluted over time. Orion took over Alpina on March 6 and is restructuring the company.

“The restructuring is still under way and will be completed in six months,” said Gmeiner.

He said the company’s strategy was to invest in a range of property including office, retail and industrial properties.

“We also want to increase the geographic spread. We are mostly Gauteng based but with some properties in Mpumalanga and Western Cape. We need to increase that spread across SA,” said Gmeiner.

The current portfolio includes two hotels attached to an office and retail centre respectively.

Gmeiner said Orion Real Estate was a pure investment fund and that the company leased property to tenants such as Orion Hotels & Resorts.