Online Reporter
Nelson Gahadza
Zimpapers Business Hub
TSL Limited will increase focus on industrial real estate to grow the contribution of its property division to group earnings, riding on logistics demand from tobacco, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and the broader commodities market.
Group chief executive officer Mr Dereck Odoteye said in an interview after the group’s analyst briefing last Friday that TSL’s strategy was anchored on building modern, income-generating industrial assets that support Zimbabwe’s key supply chains.
“Our focus is largely on industrial real estate. There is an opportunity for the warehousing side to support the tobacco industry, to support FMCG and to support the general movement of commodities, what we call our general cargo, and then also our bond store facilities,” he said.
TSL’s property portfolio delivered resilient performance in the trading period to October 31, 2025, underpinned by stable occupancy at 87 percent, consistent yields and growing third-party rental income.
Mr Odoteye said a key pillar of the strategy is the development of logistics-oriented infrastructure, including inland ports.
He said TSL is progressing with the Rutenga project, in the Mwenezi District of Masvingo Province, an intermodal inland port designed to support the efficient movement of containers and bulk products by both road and rail.
“We see development opportunities in building inland ports that support the movement of containers and bulk products, both on road and rail,” Mr Odoteye said, noting that such facilities would enhance the country’s logistics backbone while creating long-term annuity income for the group.
He said the group resumed construction of a modern 8 000-square-metre warehouse at the Hubert Fox Complex in Harare during the fourth quarter of 2025 on
“The facility, which is already tenanted, is expected to be completed in the ensuing financial year, providing immediate rental income uplift,” he noted.
Last year, TSL’s property division registered a 51 percent increase in third-party tenant rental income, supported by contributions from the 15 000 square metres added to the portfolio and inflows from rental increases.
Beyond industrial assets, Mr Odoteye said TSL is pursuing selective mixed-use developments to unlock value from land it already owns.
He said the board has approved a 73-hectare mixed land-use development on land in Harare South, targeting about 1 900 residential stands alongside commercial stands and community amenities.
“It will also have some commercial stands and then some community amenities as well. It is a project that we are starting very soon this year, and we expect that it will continue for the next 24 to 36 months,” Mr Odoteye said.
In the year under review, the group’s total lettable space declined by 3 to 213 000 square metres, following the disposal of two properties during the review period.
Mr Odoteye said the group is confident of growing occupancies, as new projects come on stream and portfolio optimisation continues.
“Our occupancy for the last financial year was 87 percent, which is improving and increasing, and with some of the moves that we’re taking, we think that we’re going to be able to push it up. In some of the more specific areas, we have had occupancies of up to 97 percent,” he said.
On the Harare South project, he noted that regulatory approvals are progressing well and are expected to be received in the next few months, with discussions already underway with potential bulk off-takers of the stands.
Mr Odoteye said the combination of industrial warehousing, logistics infrastructure and disciplined mixed-use developments would steadily lift the property division’s contribution to group performance, positioning TSL for sustainable, asset-backed growth over the medium term.
