There are definite indications that the warehousing and distribution market is set to boom in the greater Irene area, in Pretoria, and possibly in a wider area, said Org Geldenhuys, managing director of property development and management company, Abacus DIVISIONS.
He said developments concluded via sales through his company, alone – in just one week – would total R200 million over the next 12 months as seven developers ready themselves to build warehouse and distribution centres following the purchase of parcels of land through Abacus DIVISONS.
“We are seeing a trend here, I believe, where confidence is coming to the fore, especially when it comes to the planned building of warehouses. Due to the lingering effect of the global recession, companies who do have money have often being sitting on their cash, waiting to see what evolves in the local and greater economies of the world. But, just through our experiences during the first quarter of this year, we are seeing a spike of interest in the desire to invest money into warehousing. Our interest, from clients, is extending from the greater Irene area up until the Midrand area,” said Geldenhuys.
He added that the multi-billion Rand Route 21 Corporate Park office complex in Irene – where Abacus DIVISIONS was the prime marketer – is now almost “100% completed.
It is now complete and boasts a number of blue chip companies, including C Track, Discovery, listed technology group EOH, Land Rover, Volvo, Soda Club., Equity Pharmaceuticals and Escourt.”
He added, however, that while the warehousing market seemed poised for a boom the office property market was still “a bit on the slow side”.
“There are still too many office vacancies and landlords are battling to get rentals that are in pace with inflation. In some cases rentals are stagnant and, in many cases, landlords are receiving less rent if one considers inflation. But the good news is that we are seeing some action in the commercial office market space in the greater Irene area – in conjunction with a bullish warehousing market.
“It seems companies are prepared to start parting with money to invest in distribution and warehousing capacity. Because many of the deals we have been doing in this quarter have been cash-based. This is a good sign. Cash is being released into the market. But the commercial office market is not going to recover any time soon, “said Geldenhuys.
Leave a Comment