Construction World February 2015

PROPERTY

in Atterbury, and 34% was held by the Atterbury Trust. This started a generous distribution of ownership in the company and an energetic involvement with disad- vantaged communities. Van der Watt recalls:“Our biggest chal- lenge initially was funding. Fortunately Van Niekerk’s strong balance sheet secured Atterbury’s early developments.” From the outset, building and owning buildings was a key focus for Atterbury to ensure development profits and long term capital gain. “Our first development was the office of the Auditor-General in Brooklyn, Pretoria. As the portfolio expanded, new funding was hedged using already completed buildings as security,” explains Van der Watt. In 2002, Atterbury co-founded Attfund, an unlisted regional shopping centre fund of which it owned 43%. Attfund was sold to Hyprop in 2011. Taking a confident approach Challenging economic circumstances emer- ged for the SA property sector with the global economic crisis in 2008. Banks were withholding development funding. Despite this, Atterbury secured a R1,3-billion loan – the biggest for a private developer at the time – to develop Lynnwood Bridge. Contrary to the defensive strategies many companies adopted at this time, Atter- bury took a proactive, innovative approach and concluded the largest property transac- suburbs such as Northcrest, Ikwezi and Mbuqe Extension. However, from 2015 onwards this will be alleviated to some extent with a number of developments focusing on middle-income houses and gap houses planned and to be approved. Currently, Mthatha is landlocked in terms of housing developments as a result of the peri-urban areas also termed ‘rurban’ areas along the urban fringe. These transitional areas, between rural and urban, are the constraints for new developments as the city has been boxed in by the peri-urban settlements. The city’s economy is substantial as there are at least 15 towns whose economy is linked to that of Mthatha. The city supplies goods and services to towns like Flagstaff, Mvezo and Libode, where facilities that Mthatha offers are not available, making Mthatha the key economic hub in the region.” She says at present Mthatha is abuzz with a couple of new full title developments underway. One developer who has made his presence known in the city has completed

tion in SA to date. “In 2008, Atterbury also acquired 1 730 000 m 2 of commercial prop- erty development rights at Waterfall, which will provide a consistent pipeline of develop- ment profit for at least the next decade, with 1 400 000 m 2 of developable bulk available,” notes Van der Watt. Its focused, aggressive approach to property development, supported by innovation, creativity and a strong entrepreneurial spirit makes Atterbury SA’s leading property developer, even in chal- lenging markets. “The global economic climate, slow SA growth, increasing interest rates, declining consumer spending and challenges surrounding government policy motivated Atterbury to expand its focus to attrac- tive regions on the African continent and Europe,” explains Van der Watt. Pioneering new markets Atterbury has led the way for property devel- opment in other African countries. “We are focused on retail opportunities in African countries outside South Africa,” reports Van der Watt. “Several investors have partnered Atterbury as developer to build a portfolio of prized retail and commercial assets.” In 2009, Atterbury acquired a 50% stake in the Bagatelle land, Mauritius, where it developed the first regional shopping centre in Mauritius, which opened September 2011. In Europe, Atterbury has compiled a portfolio of direct, income-yielding and capital growth investments and plans to partner with a listed company to expand

this portfolio. Atterbury International is also involved in a new £150-million mixed-use development in Edinburgh, Scotland. As a commercial real estate investor, Attacq, formerly Atterbury Investment Holdings, was listed on the JSE in 2013. It focuses on sustainable capital apprecia- tion through the development and owner- ship of a balanced portfolio of properties with contractual income streams. Attacq has gross assets valued at more than R18,4-bil- lion and presently has a market capitalisa- tion of R14,7-billion. Over 20 years, Van der Watt and Van Niekerk have crafted and grown a leading company and an exceptional team at Atter- bury, nurturing a reputation of remarkable credibility with a consistently high standard Atterbury’s developments, asset manage- ment performance and social impacts have won numerous industry awards for excel- lence and innovation. Among these are various construction awards for its prop- erties, numerous PMR Diamond Awards for ‘Best Developer’ (2003 - 2013) and the Investment Property Databank (IPD) award for best commercial and overall performer for three consecutive years (2008 - 2011). Unsurprisingly, both Van der Watt and Van Niekerk are well-recognised for their remarkable and ongoing contributions to business and property. of ethical business conduct. Award-winning performance

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Mthatha’s historical town hall.

49 housing units which were quickly sold out in a development called ‘The Palms’ in the suburb of Ncambedlana. “Another new housing develop- ment in Ncambedlana, ‘Fernhill’ – comprising 88 units and catering for the medium income market, which was also launched in 2013, is about to commence construction, with services already being installed. “For investors there is a great deal of opportunity in Mthatha and surrounds because within the current property market, not many in the lower LSM groups can afford to buy, making small apartments the ideal investment to cater for this market. The rental demand is also substantial in this sector, with entry level rentals houses with two or three bedrooms achieving rentals in excess of R4 500 per month,” says Khumalo.

CONSTRUCTION WORLD FEBRUARY 2015