Liberty Holdings Limited and Excellerate Holdings Ltd have announced the strategic partnership of Liberty’s property management services business, held within Liberty Group Properties Pty Ltd, with the retail management division of JHI Properties Pty Ltd owned by Excellerate. The transaction, which came into effect on 1 May 2015, sees a new property management services company, JHI Retail, being formed in which JHI will own 51% and Liberty 49%.
“We are pleased that the deal is now effective and we look forward to being able to focus on the next phase of the new company. The deal is in line with Liberty’s growth strategy of partnering with specialist providers to build a pan-African Alternative Asset Manager of choice through STANLIB. We firmly believe that this partnership also demonstrates our strategic intent to realise growth and attract third party mandates in South Africa and other territories,” said Thabo Dloti, Group Chief Executive of Liberty.
The Liberty Property Portfolio managed by STANLIB remains a core part of Liberty’s offering to customers, and this transaction aims to enhance the service experience and efficient management of the current portfolio of properties. Dloti continued: “There is currently a demand in the market for specialised retail real estate management skills in order to service the growing retail portfolio in South Africa and the rest of Africa. We are confident that JHI Retail will present an attractive service offering to the retail property market.”
Marna van der Walt, CEO of Excellerate Property Services said: “The partnership will create additional capacity, strengthen existing capabilities to realise value, and enhance JHI Retail’s ability to deliver world class property management services”.
Nomzamo Radebe, CEO of JHI added: “We are excited about the growth and opportunities that this joint venture will unlock for JHI Retail. The Liberty Properties and JHI teams combined bring under one roof some of the country’s top property management skills and experience. As a result of this partnership, JHI Retail acquires robust capabilities to attract and grow the property management services business to unlock value, enhance expertise, and enable a customer centric approach.”
JHI Retail will offer retail management and related services to its multiple clients and a variety of future clients. The company’s strategy is to grow the retail offering in South Africa and the rest of Africa.
