Back in 2016, Rebosis Property Fund stood as a prominent real estate investment trust (Reit) valued at over R9 billion, symbolizing progress in South Africa’s listed property sector. Fast forward a decade, and its shares are worthless, its listing has vanished, and its assets liquidated to settle bank debts. No other Reit on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has left investors more disheartened.

Many South African Reits have faced a challenging decade, marked by the sector’s peak in 2016, followed by the Resilient-stable crash, the Covid pandemic, and a prolonged downturn in the office market. Yet, most surviving Reits still maintain a share price, unlike Rebosis.

In August 2016, the company was operating with a share price of R11.50 when it acquired Baywest and Forest Hill City malls from its founder’s Billion Group. By August 2022, the B shares had plummeted to 16c, prompting the company to enter business rescue and the JSE to suspend trading. Subsequently, FTSE Russell removed both share classes from the Fledgling Index, valuing them at zero.

A Gradual Descent to Zero

In July 2025, the JSE delisted the company entirely. Rebosis failed to rectify the compliance issues that had accumulated since its suspension. Shareholders were informed they would retain their shares in an unlisted company, but these shares were subordinate to approximately R9.5 billion in bank debt, rendering them virtually worthless.

This represents a near-total loss in less than a decade for a company that once held the distinction of being the JSE’s first black-managed and predominantly black-owned property fund. For a brief period, it was also among the better-performing property stocks on the exchange.

Other property funds like Delta Property Fund, Accelerate Property Fund, and the inward-listed Hammerson have also severely underperformed since 2016. While each has a claim to being the worst performer, they remain listed and trading, with Delta even showing signs of recovery. Rebosis stands alone in its demise, ending at zero.

The Road to Business Rescue

Rebosis’s decline was not abrupt but a gradual deterioration over six years, with scarcely any periods of recovery. It was led by self-serving management, including its founder, Sisa Ngebulana.

The financial statements mirror this narrative. Rebosis listed in 2011 with seven properties valued at R3.3 billion. At its zenith, it marketed itself as providing investors access to a R23 billion portfolio of malls in South Africa and the UK.

The issue was excessive leverage. The loan-to-value ratio climbed from 51.6% in August 2018 to around 72% by 2022, the highest among listed property funds. Local fund managers typically aim for loan-to-value ratios of 40% or lower. When Rebosis entered business rescue, it owed banks approximately R9.5 billion, primarily to Nedbank.

The 2016 deal circular set Rebosis’s pro forma net asset value at R13.21 per share. Investors who purchased shares near this level or within the R10–R12 range in 2016 have lost virtually everything. There was no rights issue or merger to salvage the situation, and distributions ceased long before the end.

Rebosis’s failure cannot be attributed to a single cause. It faced multiple challenges simultaneously: an ill-timed overseas investment, a costly related-party transaction, a portfolio heavily reliant on government tenants, and a balance sheet ill-equipped to handle these issues.

The Billion deal. In October 2016, shareholders approved Rebosis’s acquisition of Baywest City in Port Elizabeth and Forest Hill City in Centurion from Billion Group, founded by CEO Sisa Ngebulana. The R4.9 billion purchase was financed with R3.7 billion in new debt and a R1.2 billion equity raise. Property Flash reported during the business rescue that the deal was widely perceived as benefiting Rebosis executives rather than shareholders, with allegations of overpayment.

Brexit. Rebosis had also expanded into UK shopping centers. Following the 2016 Brexit vote, these assets were written down by approximately 30%, resulting in an impairment of roughly R2 billion, according to the Financial Mail. In the same year, the company faced two significant shocks: a substantial new debt burden in South Africa and a rapidly depreciating UK portfolio.

Aftermath and Industry Implications

The R11.2 billion portfolio attracted around 50 parties registered to bid when sales commenced in 2023. Shareholders, ranking behind the banks, had little hope of recouping their investments. The rescue plan faced repeated delays, and Rebosis failed to publish its 2022 annual results on time, further eroding any residual value for shareholders.

The JSE’s final delisting in July 2025 marked the end of Rebosis’s public journey. Its assets, including Forest Hill, and Baywest malls, were sold to settle the R9.5 billion debt owed primarily to Nedbank. The once-prominent fund’s final wind-down concluded under oversight.

Lessons for Investors

Rebosis was intended to be a transformative entity, demonstrating that a black-founded and black-managed property company could establish a successful listed fund. For a brief period, it succeeded. Its ultimate failure dealt a setback to a market segment still in need of successful role models. Property Flash expressed concerns in 2023 about whether the asset sales would undermine the fund’s transformation objectives.