Accelerate Property Fund is selling several assets across South Africa, including The Buzz Shopping Centre, Waterford Centre, and the Bosveld Mall, for slightly over R300 million.
Accelerate is a REIT, with its largest asset being its 50% stake in Fourways Mall, the nation’s largest shopping mall.
Due to financial issues over the last several years, especially at Fourways Mall, the group has been selling non-core assets.
In a trading update, the group said that it has continued its focus on its restructuring, which included the sale of several assets.
Several unconditional disposals are expected to transfer post the financial year ending, including the:
- The Buzz and Waterford – R215.0 million
- Bosveld Bela Bela – R88.0 million
- Beacon Isle and Valleyview – R35.0 million
- Vacant land behind The Buzz – R40.0 million
The group said that these disposals represent a meaningful step towards reducing leverage and are expected to contribute positively to the fund’s covenants as proceeds are used to reduce debt.
It said the disposal programme also remains a key lever for improving the fund’s capital structure, with a direct, positive impact on covenants through debt reduction and portfolio optimisation.
The headline disposals are The Buzz Shopping Centre and Waterford Centre in Fourways, Johannesburg, and Bosveld Mall in Bela Bela, Limpopo.
The Buzz will be sold for R150 million, while the Waterford centre is sold for R65 million. The centres are being sold to Dorpstraat Capital Growth Fund and Property House Group Investments.
The Buzz has over 14,000 sqm of gross lettable area (GLA), while the Waterford Centre has around 6,900 sqm.
As per the group’s latest financial results, the net operating income (NOI) of The Buzz stood at c.R20.8 million, while Waterford recorded c.R7.9 million of NOI.
The Bosveld Mall in Limpopo is being sold to Morsim Developments Properties.
The mall has a GLA of 15,991 sqm, with a weighted average gross rental of R118/sqm. The property’s NOI, excluding straight-line rental income adjustments, was R3.8 million.
The disposals will add to the over R800 million in disposals from the group this year, which already includes the sale of its share in the Portside Tower, the tallest building in Cape Town, for R580 million.
All eyes on Fourways Mall
Accelerate said a central component of its strategy has been the targeted capital investment into Fourways Mall.
About R346 million (Accelerate’s portion being R173 million) has been deployed since Flanagan
& Gerard and Moolman Group assumed the role of property and asset managers to reposition the mall.
The investment has translated into improved operating metrics and tenant demand, with vacancy having reduced to 9.4% as at 28 February 2026 from 16.1% in the prior year.
The reduced vacancies come following the additions of Planet Fitness, Total Ninja, Spur, and Nando’s. The vacancy is expected to further reduce to roughly 5% by September 2026.
Trading performance continues to strengthen, with average trading density rising 8.6% year-on-year over the rolling 12 months to February 2026.
The group’s overall portfolio vacancy has declined to 9.2% from 17.6% at 31 March 2025, driven by improved occupancy across the group’s core retail assets and the disposal of vacant, non-core properties.
Images of the malls being sold
