Vantage Capital, Africa’s largest mezzanine fund manager, has arranged R430 million of mezzanine funding for the development of Seaton Estates, a residential coastal development on the North Coast of KwaZulu-Natal.
The promoter of the transaction is Collins Residential, the residential arm of a diversified group with interests in the real estate, hospitality, and agricultural sectors both locally and internationally.
The Collins Group is a multi-generational family-owned business which has its roots in construction dating back to the early 1900s. With a recognised track record in KwaZulu-Natal, its prior developments include the recently completed Zululami Luxury Coastal Estate (adjacent to the Seaton development), Mount Edgecombe Retirement Village and Emberton Estate.
Located near the popular leisure towns of Salt Rock and Ballito, Seaton Estates looks to support the growing need for residential housing in the middle to upper segments of the property market along the North Coast, one of the fastest growing regions in the country. The growth in housing demand is supported by robust semigration trends, strong infrastructure investment in the region, and the increased flexibility that South Africans have when working from home.
It sits on a primary property with direct, exclusive access to a kilometre search of beach frontage. Seaton comprises of 1 198 single residential stands and 29 ‘Planned Urban Developments’ over 7 phases. The development is designed to be an eco-friendly coastal estate characterised by country grasslands, ocean views, and rehabilitated indigenous forest lands.
Facilities within the development will include leisure zones, a beach club house, direct beach access, multi-sports facilities, 26km biking or running trails, and rehabilitated natural forests and parks.
Later stages of the development will include commercial mixed-use nodes, retail, education, and sporting facilities.
“Seaton represents a unique way of living on a grand scale. As the developers of this iconic estate, we are driven by a genuine commitment to conservation and preservation of the natural landscape all the while designing within the framework of sustainable and meaningful development, to significantly elevate the North Coast of KwaZulu-Natal”, notes Murray Collins, MD of Collins Residential.
This transaction represents Vantage Capital’s 32nd mezzanine investment across four generations of funds in eleven African countries. Outside of South Africa, Vantage has invested in ten jurisdictions including Egypt, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia, and Botswana.
Luc Albinski, Chairman of Vantage Capital said, “KwaZulu-Natal has been hard hit by the recent riots. We are delighted to be able to help build back confidence in the region by making our first mezzanine investment of Vantage’s fourth fund into this wonderful project, which will generate hundreds of jobs over its seven-year construction period”.
Roshal Ramdenee, Associate Partner at Vantage Capital, added, “We are proud to support one of South Africa’s leading residential developers in what will be a transformative development for the North Coast of KwaZulu-Natal. Seaton Estates directly addresses the needs of buyers in a burgeoning economic hub, whilst providing unparalleled access to world class facilities and a wonderful ecological habitat”.
Adaptive Consulting acted as financial advisor to the transaction, Werksmans Attorneys acted as legal counsel for Vantage, and other advisors included Webber Wentzel, PWC, JLL, Pro Africa, Citeplan and IBIS Consulting.