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PROPERTY
That’s according to Chad Shapiro, the Cape Town-based LewGeffen
Sotheby’s International Realty commercial broker who won this
year’s Growthpoint Operation Million Megafactor Award and is the
country’s top commercial broker.
Growthpoint Properties Limited is the largest property investment holding
company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Says Shapiro: “We were competing against the whole country for the
award and we won for the biggest property deal with South Africa’s biggest
commercial broker, and as a province. I’m elated, because a decade ago
this sort of award would have been
extremely difficult to win if you
weren’t based in Gauteng.
“It’s possible now because so
many people are moving their
companies out of the country’s
economic powerhouse and they’re
coming to the Cape. Realistically with
the communication channels that
the internet allows nowadays, you
can run a business from just about
anywhere.
“I work with a lot of high-end
stock fromWoodstock to Camps Bay
in Cape Town – an area that takes in
the commercial centres of the CBD, Salt River and Sea Point – and we’re
seeing everything from mining companies to agricultural headquarters
moving into the city.
“It’s exceptionally good for Cape Town because we’re able to offer the
service package that goes with the sort of properties that commercial
enterprises demand.”
Shapiro, who has been involved in property since 2005, says Lew Geffen
Sotheby’s International Realty’s Commercial Brokerage in Cape Town, where
he works under his mentor and CEO Anton Koetzee, deals with everything
from shop fronts to office space to warehouses.
The bulk of his business is with larger property funds, although there
are a number of independent landlords in his portfolio.
And Shapiro’s advice to landlords?
“Offices do best because there is a lot of demand. We do many evalua-
tions for landlords and always advise them not to look at breaking the bank,
but to keep prices market-related and vacancy levels low. You have to offer
a strong value proposition.”
According to SAPOA’s Office Vacancy Reports and comparing office
vacancies in the Cape Town CBD year-on-year, the second quarter of 2015
shows a vacancy rate of 11,7% against a 13,9% vacancy rate for the same
period last year.
Shapiro says ultimately the more professional the landlord, the easier it
is to fill the space and keep it filled long term.
Jason Rohde, CEO of LewGeffen Sotheby’s International Realty, congrat-
ulated Shapiro on the Growthpoint Operation Million Megafactor Award.
“Cape Town as a commercial centre is growing at a phenomenal rate,
but just as with residential landlords, it pays in the long run for commercial
property funds and landlords to work with companies such as Sotheby’s that
have established national infrastructure behind them,” he says.
“Sotheby’s has a vast national and international marketing network
and we are therefore able to secure top-class tenants, as well as to provide
the subsequent services that companies such as Growthpoint demand of
their brokers.”
Rohde predicts that commercial property development in Cape Town
will continue to grow apace, because many companies want to be situated
where they can rely on services. “Ultimately time is money, and the less
down time you spend as a business, the greater profits are likely to be.”
As a capital growth property fund Attacq
is unique as its performance is measured
by growth in NAVPS over the long term.
Attacq’s solid set of results show its net rental
income increased by 47,6% to R954,1-million
during the year, its asset value was boosted
by 26,2% to R23,3 billion, with the size of its
portfolio growing by 45,1% to over 565 000 m
2
of quality, investment-grade commercial real
estate. Of this, an impressive 80,2% is green,
energy-efficient business space. Attacq’s share
price grew 25,3% during the year, resulting in its
market capitalisation of R16,6-billion at year-end.
Morné Wilken, Attacq’s CEO, says this strong
performance can be attributed to healthy
income growth in Attacq’s core portfolio, the
performance of MAS Real Estate Inc. and the
ongoing delivery of its excellent development
pipeline, with Attacq completing a remarkable
13 new developments during the year.
Attacq alsomade excellent strategic progress
including the astute management of its funding,
which diversified its funders by adding Absa
to its funding mix and reducing its weighted
average cost of debt to 9%. Its overall gearing
increased marginally to 36%. With the head-
winds of a rising interest rate environment,
during the year it increased its level of fixed
interest rate debt significantly to 75% from
63%. Wilken reports that Attacq is also set to
embark on a strategic programme to recycle
capital, disposing of lower-growth mature
assets and investing its capital astutely to fund
higher-growth opportunities.
Wilken comments: “We are pleased to
report a robust set of results which extend our
growing track record of delivering sustainable
capital growth for our investors. Property is a
long-term asset and as a capital growth fund
Attacq is in a unique position to take a long-
term view to invest, develop and grow. Since
listing in October 2013, Attacq has delivered
a compound annual growth in its share
price to investors of 23,7%. Despite a tough
operating environment in our main market of
South Africa, we are confident we will continue
SOLID GROWTH
to build on our performance in the coming year.”
Attacq invests in income-generating and
development real estate opportunities. Its
income-producing assets include directly and
indirectly held properties which provide stable
income and balance sheet strength to respon-
sibly secure and fund high-growth opportunities
within developments. Attacq unlocks value from
its developments – including undeveloped land,
greenfields developments and redevelopments
– by partnering with respected developers. In
this way Attacq benefits from the full upside
potential of its developments.
Morn
é
Wilken, Attacq’s CEO.
‘OPERATION MILLION MEGAFACTOR’ AWARD WINNER
Efficiency, pro-activeness and service delivery are
the watch-words if you want to reach the top of
your game as a commercial real estate broker in
South Africa – it’s not about talking the big game,
it’s about doing it.
Chad Shapiro, the Cape Town-
based Lew Geffen Sotheby’s Inter-
national Realty commercial broker.
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Attacq Limited, the pioneering
JSE-listed capital growth
property fund, recently posted
growth of 20,6% in net asset
value for shareholders and
growth in adjusted net asset
value per share (NAVPS) of
17,9% for its full financial year
to 30 June 2015.