UK property investment firm prepares for NSE listing

The Nairobi Securities Exchange trading floor. St Paul’s Property Trust Plc aims to list on the bourse by the end of the year. (PHOTO: FILE / STANDARD)

St Paul’s Property Trust Plc, a UK-focused property investment company that plans to list on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), has appointed Vincent Rague to its board, as a non-executive director.

Rague is a co-founder and director of Catalyst Principal Partners, a Nairobi-based private equity manager and Chairman of FSD Africa, a DFID-funded programme to support the development of financial markets in Africa.

He also serves as an independent non-executive director of Group Five, a JSE-listed engineering consulting and construction company, the Pan-Africa Infrastructure Development Fund; and Kenya Airways.

St Paul’s announced the appointment in a statement ahead of its intention to list, by way of introduction, on the Growth and Enterprise Market Segment (Gems) at NSE by the end of 2015. This is subject to market conditions and approvals by the Capital Markets Authority and NSE.

 Team

“I’m very excited about joining the St Paul’s Board of Directors and working with the company’s management team. I believe St Paul’s offers East African investors a risk averse investment opportunity, as well as steady returns, at a time when there is some instability in the markets. This is a very experienced team and I look forward to being a part of it as non-executive director and member of the investment committee,” said Rague, on his appointment.

“We are excited to welcome Vincent Rague to our board. His global experience in Africa, Latin America, Europe and Asia in real estate, project finance and investment management is a great asset. He will bring new perspectives and expertise to the board, enhancing the strength of our team and its ability to maximise shareholder value,” said Patrick Walker, chairman, St Paul’s.

“We are delighted to have Vincent on the board. He brings extensive listed-company and corporate governance experience to the team. Importantly, he buys in to our focused approach to protecting value for shareholders,” said Richard Britten-Long, director, St Paul’s.

Last month, St Paul’s announced its intention to list on the NSE, in what would be the first listing on the bourse by a UK property investment firm.

 Returns

“We intend to maximise returns for shareholders through our well-developed networks and decades of experience of managing very large UK government tenanted property portfolios in the UK. Our policy for the UK market – and possibly Europe in time – is risk averse, focused and strategic,” Britten-Long was quoted by Capital FM as saying at the time. The firm plans to invest primarily in UK government and quasi-government occupied property with an aim of providing “sustainable GBP (Great Britain pound) sterling returns.”

In a statement, the company said it had chosen Kenya for its primary listing due to the demand for “high-quality and risk-averse commercial property vehicles.”

London-based Kenswick Capital Management will manage St Paul’s portfolio. The managers (Kenswick) aim to acquire more let-to-government property assets up to the value of Sh4.5billion in 2015-2016 according to St Paul’s.

The other property investment vehicle listed on the Gems market, Home Afrika, has had a turbulent time, firing two CEOs in two years following reduced earnings.