Property doyen Jan le Roux’s new real estate agency Leapfrog and commercial property brokerage Khokhela are embarking on road shows next month to showcase the companies to black estate agents and brokers.

The two black-owned companies are targeting the estimated 5000 black estate agents in SA to grow their number of professional black estate agents. Le Roux, the former CEO of the PA Group — which owns PA BetterBond, one of the largest mortgage origination firms in the country — says this is a small number considering there are 83000 estate agents operating in SA.

Leapfrog and Khokhela, both 75%-owned by empowerment group New Deal Trust, which has black estate agents as its beneficiaries, have also recruited top names in real estate circles.

Gensec Property Services national leasing manager Kura Chihota has been appointed CEO of Khokhela, while former Re/Max of Southern Africa regional director Bruce Swain is CEO of Leapfrog. Le Roux is chairman of both companies.

The trustees of the New Deal Trust include former Scorpions boss Bulelani Ngcuka, Estate Agency Affairs Board CEO Nomonde Mapetla, businesswoman Hlube Mazwai and Le Roux.

Le Roux says Leapfrog has already started trading and has concluded its first property deals. Khokhela is set to start its operations on May 1.

Le Roux says next month he, Chihota and Swain will go on a road show across SA to encourage black estate agents and brokers to join the groups as franchisees or agents.

“We plan to recruit the vast majority of successful black agents in SA.”

He says he believes the groups will be successful in doing this because they will be offering these agents share options in the holding companies.

This is “hugely different” from what other real estate groups are doing as most offer franchises but not necessarily share options in the holding company.

Le Roux says they are not just targeting black agents and brokers, but also whites.

He says a number of other estate agencies operating under other brands are set to convert to the Leapfrog brand, and that almost all the members of a prominent Western Cape real estate agency have converted.

Le Roux says Leapfrog is also expecting some other real estate agencies operating in Johannesburg under a well-known brand to convert.

Leapfrog aims to have 150 franchised operations within two to three years.

“As SA’s demographics continue to evolve, a high percentage of house sales will soon be to black buyers, by which time we will have a body of black agents, trained by us and backed by New Deal, to become the top agents in the country,” says Le Roux.