PROPERTY developer WestProp Holdings Limited has, since listing on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange, raised approximately US$5 million.
On the day of listing on May 5 2023, WestProp only managed to raise US$3 million from a targeted US$30 million capital raising initiative through preference shares to fund the firm’s developments.
In an interview at the recent launch of WestProp’s US$630 000 multi-purpose gate to its Pomona City Residential suburb that is under construction, its chairperson, Michael Louis said: “We have learned now that we must spend more time educating people on how to buy shares on the stock exchange.
“We have now seen people are slowly being educated and I think the take-up is going to be more.
“We realised that we are not going to rely on conventional (capital raising activities). It was a fast process to list. But in the last couple of months, people are starting to look at this baby and what it is doing.
“I think we are really going to have very creative ideas on how to raise capital in a conventional way because at the end of the day (when) people see big projects coming up…they… get the confidence to say we want to be part of this.”
He said WestProp posted a profit of US$11 million last year, and are expecting these figures to rise further by the end of the current year.
WestProp chairperson added that the balance sheet had a net value of US$54 million, which was a lot considering the environment and that the company was still on a trajectory to build a US$300 million balance sheet in five years.
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“I think the uptake was poor, but I think we were really bullish to get US$30 million in the market before elections and maybe our hopes were too high,” Louis said.
WestProp is now working on opening the gate to Millennium Heights, a unique gated lifestyle community. Millennium Heights is situated on 12 hectares of land in Harare.
WestProp chief executive officer Ken Sharpe said: “The whole team that finished this (launching the gate) today are moving to Millennium Heights to do the gate entrance.
“That construction will start next week (this week). That is one of the five projects that we needed to raise funding for. We are expecting to complete this in six months because it is even a bigger project than this gate,” he said.
Millennium Heights involves the construction of up to 12 blocks with 1 000 apartments.
Construction for Block Three of Millennium Heights costs US$5,64 million and comprises 112 apartments, which is currently being constructed. Completion is expected by year end. Other developments under WestProp include Pokugara Residential Estate and The Mall of Zimbabwe.
