Mashonaland Holdings Limited projects have been delayed by the general market conditions as well as the COVID-19 pandemic according to the company’s Abridged Consolidated Financial Results for the Year Ended 30 September 2020.
On the property market, Mashonaland Holdings company’s Board Chairperson, Engineer Grace Bema says the construction costs have remained high while property market values are falling rendering new property development unviable.
“At the same time, building maintenance costs have risen sharply as contractors are indexing costs to the United States Dollar based on the parallel market rate,” she says.
“The limited number of projects has also resulted in higher contractor charges in the absence of economies of scale. Resultantly, property owners have deferred non-critical building maintenance works which will likely have an impact on future values.”
Mashonaland Holdings delayed projects include the Charter House reconfiguration to a boutique hotel with on-site works now targeted to begin in Quarter (Q) 1 OF 2021.
Bluff Hill cluster housing project is set to commence following the conclusion of the tender process with the construction of a model house scheduled for completion in Q1 2021 according to the Board Chairperson.
“In addition, work on the mixed-use subdivision of Lot C, Galway Estate, Ruwa Township is underway,” Bema says.
“We expect that these will enhance our offering in line with our strategy once completed.”
Mashonaland Holdings revenue for the year ended 30 September 2020 increased by 30% from ZWL$133 million to ZWL$173 million according to Bema.
“The growth in revenue is mainly attributed to the rent reviews implemented during the year,” she says.
“The growth in occupancy levels from 77% to 79.2% also contributed towards revenue growth.”
