• FMP voluntarily terminated its ZSE listing on 2 July 2026, taking a US$140.07 million property platform into an unlisted structure
  • First Mutual Holdings offered US$0.033 per share for the 29.2% minority stake, leaving remaining shareholders dependent on private transactions
  • The exit removes a direct listed route into dollarised rental income, commercial property and urban development assets, extending a corporate departure cycle that continues to narrow the ZSE’s investable universe

Harare - First Mutual Properties Limited has voluntarily terminated its listing on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange effective 2 July 2026, moving a US$140.07 million property platform into an unlisted structure built around shareholder support and alternative long-term funding.

According to the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, FMP shareholders approved the voluntary delisting at an extraordinary general meeting held on 2 June 2026, after which the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe cleared the transaction. FMP securities can no longer trade on the ZSE.

The move follows First Mutual Holdings Limited’s decision to acquire minority FMP shares at US$0.033 per share. First Mutual Holdings held about 70.8% of FMP before the transaction and placed a maximum US$11.91 million cash offer for the remaining 29.2% of the company’s issued shares. Minority investors who declined the offer retain their holdings in FMP as an unlisted company.

FMP’s board framed the delisting as a capital-allocation decision. Maintaining a listed structure had become difficult to justify without a near-term requirement to raise public equity, while unlisted status gives the company greater room to raise capital through its shareholder and alternative funding arrangements, execute corporate actions faster and engage investors whose funding horizons suit property development and asset management.

The exit carries weight because FMP is a functioning property platform, not a distressed corporate-rescue case. Formerly Pearl Properties, FMP listed on the ZSE in 2007 and built a portfolio of about 41 buildings with 124,178 square metres of lettable space across office parks, retail sites, industrial properties, commercial buildings and strategic land holdings. Its key assets include Arundel Office Park, Pearl House and First Mutual Park.

FMP generated US$8.97 million in revenue and US$4.57 million in net property income during 2025, while total assets reached US$140.07 million. The company’s rental base, asset-management platform and development land gave public-market investors a direct route into dollarised property income and commercial real estate demand.

The delisting removes that route from the ZSE.

Listed status gave pension funds, insurers, fund managers and retail investors a visible market price, broker access and exchange settlement. The new structure moves price discovery and liquidity into private transactions and any over-the-counter mechanism that FMP establishes for remaining shareholders. The quality of that mechanism will determine whether minority investors retain a credible route to trade their shares after the delisting.

FMP’s departure also extends a broader ZSE exit cycle that has reduced the market’s sector depth. Simbisa Brands and National Foods moved to the VFEX in 2022. GetBucks exited the ZSE in 2023 amid low trading volumes and a reassessment of listing costs. Bridgefort Capital terminated its listing through corporate action in 2024. Khayah Cement and Truworths exited through corporate-rescue processes in 2025. National Tyre Services left at the end of 2025 after liquidity and public-listing costs weakened the rationale for remaining on the exchange. Econet Wireless Zimbabwe terminated its ZSE listing in March 2026 through a restructuring that created the VFEX-listed Econet InfraCo.

These transactions carry different corporate motives. VFEX migrations seek United States dollar pricing and access to hard-currency capital. Corporate-rescue delistings remove distressed businesses from public-market obligations. Private-market exits arise where listing costs, thin trading and weak price discovery no longer support a company’s ownership and funding strategy.

FMP now places commercial property within that third category. The company’s portfolio remains exposed to an urban property market where demand has shifted toward suburban office parks, retail centres, warehouses and developments with reliable utilities. FMP’s ability to fund refurbishments, recycle lower-yielding assets, develop strategic land and protect rental collections will now sit outside daily public-market scrutiny.

For the ZSE, the consequence is a narrower investable universe and one less income-producing property counter. The exchange needs stronger liquidity provision, deeper institutional participation and more reliable price discovery to retain companies whose assets and earnings justify public-market access.

FMP’s next results will test whether the unlisted structure improves capital efficiency. Rental collections, occupancy, development expenditure, debt levels, property valuations and the operating rules of its shareholder trading platform will determine whether the delisting strengthens value creation while preserving liquidity for investors who remained in the company

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