On behalf of its clients, Futuregrowth's Development Equity Fund, has purchased a 12.5% equity stake in Johannesburg urban renewal property group TUHF (Pty) Ltd for R25m which will boost affordable housing in Johannesburg CBD. TUHF provides commercial property finance to emerging and established entrepreneurs to purchase and refurbish affordable rental housing residential buildings in the inner cities of  Gauteng, Durban, Pietermaritzburg, Port Elizabeth and surrounding areas

It claims to be the lightning capital of world, but however dubious this title may be, Johannesburg has avoided being struck by the global property crash as its offices, shops and warehouses outperformed those in every other global city outside of South Africa over the last decade. Analogous to a tale of 'havens' and 'have-nots', commercial property is a key measure of economic vitality, since strong retail, leisure and industrial performance encourages investors such as pension funds to buy up buildings to earn income through rental income and capital value increases

In 2008, Atterbury secured the commercial development rights for 330 ha of prime land north of Sandton. Waterfall Business Estate, is in total a staggering 1,6 million square metre mixed-use commercial development - the most ambitious of its kind being undertaken in South Africa. And now Atterbury has confirmed that it is developing a 46,000sqm head office campus, customer walk in centre, data/IT centre and warehouse for Cell C at the estate

With the first of July comes the beginning of the new Municipal Financial year. Alas for Johannesburg and other city ratepayers that means digging in deeper to those shallower pockets

Global law firm Baker & McKenzie has opened an office in Johannesburg, the business heart of South Africa that is often viewed as the gateway for foreign companies into the rest of the African continent.

The office is Baker & McKenzie’s second in Africa, after one was opened in Cairo 1985, and will focus primarily on mining and infrastructure, project finance, banking and capital markets, securitization, mergers and acquisitions, and private equity

The 50-hectare high-profile Meadowview Business Park offers one of the most strategically desirable locations in Johannesburg along with ample space to grow. Although the first development in the park only broke ground in June 2011, it is already attracting strong interest and has attracted to top companies: For example leading SA company General Medical Supplies (GMS) recently opened its new 6 000 sqm head office, warehouse and manufacturing facility at the prime new commercial estate.

And, GMS isn’t the only company to commit to this growing, modern business complex. Multinational supply chain company UTi Pharma seized the opportunity to develop its facility on a 61,000sqm site at Meadowview Business Park.

Hugo Stroud, director of Intaprop explains that Meadowview Business Park’s most attractive advantage is its location. It is central to Gauteng, at the London Road interchange of the N3 highway at R25 Modderfontein Road.  “This gives it superb road access, connecting to the N3, Modderfontein, OR Tambo International Airport and Greenstone retail node”. Furthermore, its loccation between Longmeadow and Linbro Park is at the epicentre of current FMCG logistics property demand.

“Meadowview Business Park also benefits from substantial office and warehousing zoning. This means it offers a range of accommodation that neighbouring areas cannot,” notes Stroud: The Park includes 250,000sqm of development ranging in size from 5,000sqm to 20,000sqm and upwards. Land can be sized to user requirements during the development stage, providing flexibility. It also offers tailor-made amalgamations of offices, laboratories, warehousing or logistics facilities for clients.

Stroud points to the high-spec, high-tech GMS facility, which Intaprop custom-built to meet the company’s needs. It benefits from Meadowview Business Park’s secure high street, landscaped business environment. For staff, it has generous on-grade parking and is close to public transport, including the Gautrain.  

Intaprop, which owns Meadowview Business Park, is a private property development and investment enterprise with a successful track record in corporate real estate development.

According to a recent report by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), focusing on Johannesburg, the commercial market is “beginning to favour landlords in the prime office accommodation as they are beginning to achieve asking gross rentals and reduced vacancies albeit limited speculative completions”.

The graph below shows the ratio of unlet new office space to total new space. The general trend has been one reflecting a lowering ratio, however in the case of Durban and Johannesburg, the ratio has increased. In Durban's case it is more a function of new space being absorbed into the mainstream market, whereas in Joburg's case the amount of new space on the market (just over 358,000m²) has increased to its highest level since Q3 2009. With the ratio of unlet new space at just under 60% - whilst not that high by historical perspective - could still negatively impinge on the overall vacancy rate going forward.

According to JLL nevertheless, investors are still conservative in committing to new speculative developments due to uncertainty, suggesting that speculative developments represent about 36% of the pipeline in the next 2 years. With all the committed construction activity in the Johannesburg area, office stock is expected to reach over 8,6 million m² in 2012 and 8.8 million m² in 2013.

JLL indicates that Sandton and Bryanston continue to be nodes of choice for office accommodation where heightened activity was noted during Q1 2012. Large deals in the market during in this period are the take up of over 16,000m² by the law firm CLA Cliff Dekker in Sandton and the 3,000m² office lease by Huawei Technologies SA in Bryanston.

The commercial market in Johannesburg is beginning to favour landlords in the prime office accommodation as they are beginning to achieve asking gross rentals and reduced vacancies albeit limited speculative completions

JHI Residential is a natural progression for the group, which collectively has extensive experience not only in managing commercial property, but in managing various mixed-use properties which often includes a residential component

The past financial year signified an intense upgrade phase in the Premium portfolio, with redevelopment and conversions representing a value of R102,1 million, underway at many buildings