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Laptrust Imara I-Reit price locked at net asset value until March 2026
Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) chairman Kiprono Kittony at the Nairobi Securities Exchange grounds on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, during the bell ringing ceremony, to officiate the listing of Laptrust Imara I-Reit. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NMG
Real estate fund Laptrust Imara I-Reit has set the price of its units or shares to track the value of its net assets, marking a contrast with other such funds like Ilam Fahari I-Reit, which trade freely based on demand and supply dynamics.
The Imara share price has remained at Sh20, based on the single transaction of 250,000 shares, which traded in March when the fund was listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
“The price of the units is based on the NAV (net asset value) of the scheme as calculated by the Reit manager and will maintain up until the promoter’s [Laptrust] exit, thereafter, the price of the units shall be subject to the open market forces of supply and demand,” said Laptrust in its interim report.
This means that Imara’s share price will start to trade freely from March 2026 when the pension fund is expected to start offloading part of its stake, which currently stands at 99.92 percent.
Laptrust has committed to maintaining ownership of the securities in the first three years and will be open to sell them only to professional investors and at a minimum trade size of Sh5 million.
It will join Fahari whose units trade freely on the NSE. Fahari listed in 2015 at a price of Sh20 per unit. The property fund has seen its price per unit fall to the current level of Sh6, joining other listed securities that have been hammered in the general bear market.
Upon listing in March, Imara issued 346.2 million units, worth Sh6.9 billion and valued at Sh20 per unit price based on the net asset value of the scheme at the time.
The units are trading on the restricted sub-segment of the NSE.
Laptrust holds seven properties including CPF MetroPark, CPF House, Pension Towers and Freedom Heights Mall.
The Reit is the first to be listed by a pension fund on the Nairobi bourse.
There are currently four operational Reits (real estate investment trusts) including Acorn Student Accommodation I-Reit and Acorn Student Accommodation D-Reit.
