Helvetica announces date for IPO of residential fund
The Helvetica Swiss Living Fund is to go public as early as December. Helvetica has already received approval to go public for private investors.
According to a statement from Helvetica, FINMA has approved the amendments to the fund contract of the Helvetica Swiss Living Fund (HSL Fund), which is to be opened to public investors. "On this basis and thanks to the early completion of the repositioning of the fund, the fund management company has decided to list the HSL Fund on the SIX Swiss Exchange before the end of 2024," writes the fund management company. The first day of trading is scheduled for December 10. The IPO is expected to result in increased liquidity, better tradability and an expansion of the investor base.
Gross yield of 4.1%
As at the end of October 2024, the HSL Fund portfolio comprises 40 purely residential properties in German- and French-speaking Switzerland. The strategic focus is on residential properties for multi-person and family households in the low to medium rental price segment. Based on the sales made up to the end of October 2024, the market value of the portfolio amounts to around CHF 525 million, the average gross yield is 4.1 % and the vacancy rate is reportedly stable at around 4 %. The HSL Fund's debt ratio is currently within the target range at CHF 27 %. Following the payment of redemptions from the 2023 financial year, the net fund assets will amount to around CHF 365 million at the end of March, according to Helvetica 2025. Net income for the financial year is expected to be within the planned target range, which would enable a dividend of CHF 2.80 per unit for 2024.
Helvetica announced its plans to open the fund to private investors at the beginning of October. In this context, there was also talk of a possible stock exchange listing (IB reported). "The listing of the HSL Fund now enables all investors to diversify their portfolio with high-yield, suburban residential real estate in fast-growing Swiss regions and benefit from liquid trading on the Swiss stock exchange," says Urs Kunz, Chief Commercial Officer at Helvetica. (aw)
