Star 2024-12-12

Growthpoint Properties, a leading South African real estate investment trust, is building a more than R2 billion, 400-unit residential and retail development, Olympus Sandton, in partnership with luxury residential developer Tricolt. Olympus Sandton will be situated in the mixed-use Sandton Summit precinct, anchored by the Discovery head office on the corner of Rivonia Road. The investment aligns with Growthpoint’s aim to create a premier walkable, mixed-use precinct, capitalising on Sandton’s status as Africa’s leading financial district, said Growthpoint South Africa head of asset management, Neil Schloss, in a statement yesterday. “We believe the development is well-timed for the reawakening of the powerhouse that is Sandton Central, and aligned with its accelerated transformation into a vibrant neighbourhood as it evolves with the trend of people wanting to live closer to workplaces…

International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) said yesterday that it would focus its energy on the upcoming court hearing in March next year, which may decide whether it retains its hold on the 25-year contract to upgrade and manage the Port of Durban’s Pier 2 after the bid was challenged by APM Terminals, a Dutch-based subsidiary of the Danish AP Moller-Maersk Group. In a statement yesterday, Hans-Ole Madsen, ICTSI’s regional head for Europe and Middle East and Africa, said they were disappointed by the KwaZulu-Natal High Court’s decision to deny their application for leave to appeal an interdict which temporarily stops Transnet from implementing the public-private partnership agreement with the Philippine company. “ICTSI maintains that the reasoning underpinning the interdict stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of the technical financial metrics…

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is expected to shrug off the moderation in consumer prices and continue with its rate cutting cycle next year as headline inflation remains below the lower end of its 3%-6% target range. The SARB announced a second consecutive 25 basis points cut to interest rates last month, taking the repurchase rate from 8% to 7.75% and the prime lending rate from 11.5% to 11.25% per annum, after headline consumer inflation fell to 2.8% in October. Data from Statistics SA (Stats SA) yesterday revealed that the annual inflation rate rose to 2.9% in November, slightly up from a four-year low of 2.8% in October, driven by rising fuel prices. Though this marked the first increase in consumer inflation after five consecutive periods of easing, it…

Share price surged 15.6% to R107.10, a price that was already 48% higher than a year ago Barloworld’s share price ramped up over 15% yesterday after its CEO Dominic Sewela and the Saudi Arabian family-owned business, Zahid Group, firmed up an offer for all of the JSE-listed international heavy equipment distributor’s shares, at a whopping 87% premium to the share price. The offer, which will lead to the delisting of Barloworld if it goes ahead, values Barloworld at R23 billion and represents a total value unlock at R123.10 per share, comprising a cash offer to shareholders of R120 per share, which will not be reduced by the R3.10 per share dividend already declared by Barloworld on November 22, which values the total deal at R22.8bn. Barloworld’s share price surged 15.6%…

Following in the footsteps of her mother, Qawekazi Fadana, is breaking barriers in the farming sector. Fadana, 37, told Business Report that she aims for her diversified free-range poultry and stock farming operation, Mhlelisa Farm in Haga Haga 70km north of East London, to build on existing commercial success and catalyse growth and innovation in the rural Wild Coast. She was one of the 28 entrepreneurs and small business owners who enrolled in the first intake of the Stellenbosch Business School’s Small Business Academy (SBA) in East London, and, after just a few weeks on the programme, believed it was the key to unlocking her business vision. Fadana said, “When my farmworkers can buy their own cars and I can sit around the table in my shorts, just like the…

The collapse of several high-profile local and international startups this year – including Zando, Ellies and the US and Canada’s Bed, Bath and Beyond – denotes how important it is for business owners to pay close attention to business performance. From economic instability and rising inflation to the wide adoption of AI in an increasingly competitive digital playing field – 2024 was full of lessons for the astute entrepreneur. Here are five of the biggest business lessons to take into 2025: Adapt or die During the 2024 African Entrepreneurs Summit, Rebecca Enonchong, a tech entrepreneur from Cameroon, emphasised the need for adaptability, especially in Africa where markets are unpredictable and diverse. She highlighted how her software company, AppsTech – built in an environment where access to technology was limited –…