CFI pushes for housing delivery but legacy issues point of bother

ZSE-listed entity CFI Holdings Limited is pushing for housing delivery despite being saddled with unresolved legacy issues in the real estate delivery services.

Part of the initiative will include the group resolving the legacy issues with its land banks in Harare, where the company is not in good books with some of its clients over unresolved stand sale disputes.

The group has failed to allocate stands to its customers for some of its residential projects from nearly a decade ago. For example, its residential development in Suncrest Park is a bone of contention with home seekers who have not been allocated their stands nearly a decade after purchasing them.

The group put the project on the market in 2015 and scheduled to complete it by October 2016. However, group chairperson Itai Pasi has indicated the group’s long-term plan in the real estate sector.

“Long-term focus remains directed towards the development of low-cost housing delivery in Harare South in support of Government’s Vision 2030 development goals,” she said in an update for the year to September 30, 2023.

Legal proceedings remain pending before the relevant tribunals over its long-prolonged Langford land dispute, whose impasse started in 2015.

The Langford Estate transaction, which was consummated in 2015, involved a land-for-debt swap deal that saw Fidelity Life Assurance (FLA) assume CFI’s US$18 million debt in the form of US$16 million in bank debts and settle US$2 million with other creditors.

CFI’s majority shareholder however demanded a reversal of the deal, which was expected to see Fidelity develop about 11 500 high-density residential stands at Langford with an estimated market value of US$350 million, which was to be the successor to the South View Housing project.

Pasi however indicated the group was also committed to putting the matter to rest, which is currently still before legal tribunals.

“The group will therefore maintain its efforts to resolve all issues affecting its interests in its land banks to make way for progressive, orderly infrastructure development and service delivery to the various settlements,” she said.

As for its Saturday Retreat, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Crest Breeders International confirming the entity’s rights in Saturday Retreat Estate, in February last year.

“The entity is seized with implementing its development strategy as the Group looks to enhance its synergies with the retail unit and diversify its portfolio,” said Pasi.

Meanwhile, during the financial year 2023, the group incurred unrealised exchange losses of $139,5 billion on its foreign currency-denominated loans and creditors.

Consequently, the group posted a loss before tax widened to $125,23 billion against a loss before tax of $3,06 billion from the prior year.

The group has indicated its plans for proactive measures to cushion the business from the medium-term challenges emanating from the projected bad weather, which will affect the agriculture sector.

“The operating environment is forecasted to remain challenging and complex in the medium term aggravated by the now prevailing El Nino induced 2023/24 phenomenon which is set to reduce agricultural output in the region.

“Given that the agricultural sector is a mainstay to the Group’s operation, proactive management practices will therefore be employed to ensure the Group’s survival in these difficult times,” she said.-newsday