LAPTRUST (Local Authorities Pension Trust) Imara I-REIT, a real estate firm listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange(NSE), has recorded a 28.5% slump in half-year net earnings to KSh 57.8million. This is on account of a fall in property earnings and a decline in fortunes for the real estate market.
LAPTRUST recorded a 49.6% drop in rental income to KSh 124.6 million with Total revenue falling 42.2% to KSh 176.29Million from KSh 305.08Million in H1 2025.
Operating expenses, however, declined 47.1% to KSh 118.47Million. The listed firm also got some reprieve on its loan book with a 74.1% reduction in provisions for bad debts to KSh 31.45Million.
LAPTRUST has seen a decline in H1 Net Profit from KSh 162.38 million in 2024, to KSh 80.92Million in 2025 and KSh 57.82Million this year, largely due to falling rental income.
While LAPTRUST boasts of a rich property portfolio, the value of these assets has been on a rapid decline from KSh 6.9 billion in 2022 to KSh 5.7 billion at the close of the first six months of this year.
While occupancy of its residential and retail properties has been improving, LAPTRUST has seen earnings from office spaces and parking slots fall due to less traffic as working from home modes gain traction.
Laptrust Imara Income-REIT was listed at the on March 22nd, 2023. It is currently the 33rd most valuable stock on the NSE, with a market capitalization of KSh 6.92 billion, which makes about 0.174% of the Nairobi Securities Exchange equity market.
LAPTRUST Imara Income-REIT property portfolio
The REIT, valued at KSh346.2 billion, holds several properties including CPF Metro Park and Pension Towers, with 100% of its units held by Laptrust.
LAPTRUST plays in the same league as other REITs listings like Acorn Holdings Limited and Stanlib Fahari I-REIT, all on the NSE Main Investment Market; Restricted Sub-Segment.
The REIT was listed as a close-ended fund at KSh20 per unit based on the net asset value of the scheme as at the time of listing and valued at a total of 346,231,413 units.
Interestingly, Laptrust holds 100 percent of the Imara I-REIT securities, with no initial offer to the public. However, the units can be transferred to persons who qualify as professional investors and at a minimum trade size of KSh5 million.
Properties held under Imara I-REIT include CPF Metro Park, CPF House, Pension Towers, Freedom Heights Mall and Service Plot and Man Apartment.
The REIT Manager for LAPTRUST Imara I-Reit is Sterling REIT Asset Management Limited- a private company incorporated in October 2013 and licensed by the CMA as a REIT Manager.
Laser Property Services Limited (LASER), the Property Manager for LAPTRUST Imara I-Reit was incorporated in 2013, as a subsidiary of CPF Financial Services offering real estate services.
LASER is a professional real estate company that will deal with property and facility management, real estate agency and feasibility and investment appraisal on behalf of the REIT.
LASER has built internal capacity in key real estate functions critical in ensuring delivery of professional services and offering solutions to any emerging property related challenges.
LASER and its representatives are members of various institutions with certifications and codes of practice that provide landlords and tenants with an assurance that they will receive the highest level of customer service from qualified professionals.
LASER Properties Services Limited is uniquely qualified to handle the responsibility of Property Manager for the LAPTRUST Imara I-Reit as the entity has been managing the Seed Properties on behalf of the LAPTRUST.
The company has also been managing properties on behalf of several other parties including the Police Sacco Plaza.
Owing to a fall in financial performance, shareholders of LAPTRUST will receive an interim distribution of KSh 46.26Mn, or KSh 0.134 per unit, down from KSh 64.73Mn a year earlier. This payout represents 80% of distributable income.
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