Westwood Shopping Centre in KwaZulu-Natal and Goldfields Mall in the Free State have added 63 000 sqm of retail space to the Broll Property Group’s portfolio. It has recently signed contracts to manage the centres as well.
According to retail portfolio executive, Preston Gaddy the Goldfields Mall adds a strong retail component to the area and brings stores such a Checkers, Woolworths, Edgars, Truworths and Mr Price to the Welkom region and other retailers appear to be keen to take advantage of these major chain stores that have leases in this centre.
The 38 000 sqm Westwood Centre is owned by a property consortium that has Retail Africa as its main shareholder. Gaddy says that his company will provide administration services to the consortium.
He claims to have devised a new strategic letting plan for the Westwood Centre that has various national retailers letting space in Westville.
In a separate development, Norbert Sasse, chairman of the Property Loan Stock Association claims that listed property was the best-performing asset class in South Africa providing total returns of 27,41%.
Sasse says that 13 of the listed property companies were registered in among South Africa’s Top 100 companies over the past five years. He claims that listed property has consistently out-performed equities and bonds over the past ten years notching up cumulative returns of 25,1% a year against equities at 16,1% and bonds at 12,1%.
Sasse claims that any serious investors should include listed property as one of the asset classes to invest in based on its sustained performance over the years.
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