By Nick Wilson

Akhona Properties, 100% owned by black women, is changing direction and repositioning itself as a property investment company.

The small company has earned a solid reputation as a property manager over the past few years but recently sold its standalone property management business to Broll Property Group, one of the big local names in the field.

Akhona also acquired a 25,1% stake in Broll. Its joint venture property management business with Broll, called Akhona Broll, still exists and manages a R1,5bn property portfolio.

But Akhona CEO Noluthando Gosa said selling the standalone business to Broll and acquiring a stake in Broll provided Akhona with a "different growth path" where it could "leverage on Broll's platform and grow as a business".

"Akhona is looking at increasing its interest in Broll over time."

Akhona was also part of the consortium that acquired a 25% interest in listed property loan stock company Vukile Property Fund. If the reputation Akhona earned as a property manager is anything to go by, the company should become an important player in the property investment world.

Gosa said Akhona's property investments were worth R100m and that its target in the next three years was to take that to at least R500m. She said the company would also look to become involved in various property developments.

Akhona was established in January 2004 with a focus on property management, but later branched into property investments. Although very small compared with other players in the property management world, such as JHI and Broll, Akhona has enjoyed much success over the past three years.

"For us, the most difficult period as a start-up property management company was the first year because we didn't have a track record. This is a services business where you are only as good as the quality of your service," says Gosa.

Once Akhona acquired its first property management contracts from reputable companies and proved the "quality of its service", "life became much better". The group won a number of high-profile contracts while operating as a property management company, including one to jointly manage Southgate Mall in Johannesburg with Broll.

It also won a contract to manage jointly the Gauteng property portfolio of the Public Investment Corporation.

One of Akhona's strategies was to partner with established property players depending on the requirement of a particular tender. Another coup was winning the contract to manage the Johannesburg Development Agency's (JDA's) property portfolio after its successful management of the JDA's 1 Central Place commercial building in Newtown. Gosa says some of Akhona's success was due to the fact that it differentiated itself in the marketplace.

"Firstly we are 100% black women-owned and our staff are mostly women, and there is a strategy behind that. In the services business relationship building is important and women are better than men at managing relationships." Gosa says that in the services business women are better at "paying attention to detail" than men.

"The key issue is just because you are empowered doesn?t entitle you to business. You have to deliver a quality service. The priority is value add," says Gosa.

Business Day