Property players eye Africa

Johannesburg - Property managers and developers looking to expand their footprint beyond South Africa's well-developed shopping centre and office markets are taking their much-needed expertise into Africa.

Key players in the SA commercial property services industry such as Eris Property Group (formerly known as RMB Properties) and Broll are steadily increasing their reach into Africa, including Botswana, Zambia, Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria and Mauritius.

"Africa offers attractive opportunities for professional property developers with technical expertise and financial muscle," said Eris development manager Niel Freislich. He said a number of African countries with stable and growing economies had seen very little new development over the past decade. Yet there was huge demand for modern retail and office buildings.

In Botswana, said Freislich, businesses were insisting on being housed in modern real estate amenities. Eris recently completed the Fairgrounds Office Park in Gaborone, a 7 600m² development valued at around R108m. Construction on an 8 000m² shopping centre and a 1 500m² office development in Mochudi in rural Botswana is set to begin next month.

Further north, in Zambia, Eris is involved in a joint venture to develop a shopping centre in Livingstone and has already completed an office building of 5 600m² in Lusaka with MTN Zambia as its tenant. Freislich said Eris had also identified Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana and Mozambique as offering potential development and investment opportunities. "We are considering partnering SA and international companies with space requirements in those countries."

Property broking firm Broll is taking a number of SA retail brands such as Mr Price, Identity and Truworths into previously unchartered territory such as Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria and, more recently, Mauritius.

Hilton Dukes, Broll's retail director, said the company was rapidly expanding its reach into Africa, where it focused on negotiating retail leases, helping new shopping centres with their tenant requirements and maximising the ongoing performance of retail centres.

Dukes said Broll's experience gained in the SA retail property market was standing the group in good stead in helping to develop underserviced retail markets in other African countries. He said Broll's latest project was the The Mall of Mauritius, the Indian Ocean Island's first regional shopping centre, to be developed by SA developer Atterbury and its Mauritian partner, the ENL group.

In Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania, Broll recently negotiated leases for the 20 000m² Milimani City development, securing retailers such as Game, Shoprite, Truworths, Identity, Mr Price. In Namibia, Broll negotiated leases with leading retailers for the 30 000 sq m Wernhil Park, including Woolworths, Pick n Pay, Jet, CNA, House & Home and Ackermans.

- Fin24.com