ABN | Billion Group

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CONSTRUCTION | Billion Group

BILLIO

Bringing catalyst dev

African Business Network

ON GROUP

velopments to South African cities

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CONSTRUCTION | Billion Group

Billion Group was formed by South African property magnate Sisa Ngebulana in 1998 with the aspiration to create a property development firm, which would have a significant impact in terms of bringing socioeconomic advancement to new areas in South Africa. Now in the year of its 18th birthday, it is clear that Billion Group has most certainly come of age.

From early beginnings as a property development junior, the business has gradually evolved into a publicly traded firm with a substantial market share, following the birth of Rebosis in 2010. A year later, Rebosis (a subsidiary group of Billion) became the first majority black-owned property fund to be listed on the JSE, a landmark milestone for the company. ABN talks to Billion’s development director Dewald van Staden, who charts the rise of one of South Africa’s most influential property development firms.

with bold architecture in highly accessible locations, which are likely to have a transformative impact in the local area.

The company’s portfolio reflects a sustained focus on mixed-use retail projects located in new urban development nodes across several South African cities. Consequently, Billion’s current portfolio alludes to its astute approach to property development.

“We try not to do what everybody else does,” claims van Staden.“We look at different sectors and are pioneers in some of the areas where we have managed recent property developments, from a geographical point of view.

“The bulk of our developments are in areas where we have been the catalyst for further development in that region. We look at market indicators and growth patterns for the various locations, and then come down into these areas and start off the development process.”

Therefore, Billion’s concentration on developing retail projects in new urban precincts represents a very calculated method of building markets and communities in tandem, with shopping malls acting as the very foundation of this growth.

Billion Group provides a number of property development services to several key sectors,

This phenomenon can be observed in

including retail, commercial, residential

many of Billion’s completed mixed-use

and mixed-use projects, all of which are

developments, including the Forest Hill City

underpinned by a steadfast philosophy.

mall in Centurion, Pretoria West and the BT

Billion prides itself on undertaking projects

Ngebs City mall in Mthatha, Eastern Cape.

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CONSTRUCTION | Billion Group

BT Ngebs

“BT Ngebs was the first blueprint of our strategy to bring retail to communities where it has never been before, and it has been very successful in this respect.”

The 60,000m² state-of-the-art, regional shopping centre has offered a comprehensive retail experience to its visitors since it opened in mid-2015, with a diverse mix of popular tenants.

But crucially, the development has become the focal point of a thriving regional economy in Mthatha, through job creation and a subsequent rise in consumer activity, along with related infrastructural developments.

Based on the socio-economic development BT Ngebs has brought to Mthatha, Billion has followed up on this success with the construction of a hotel, which is set to open in the coming months, and has further scope for expansion with casino facilities.

However, Billion’s stand-out success story has been the development of Port Elizabeth’s 90,000m² Baywest Mall, which became the largest shopping centre in the Eastern Cape when it opened its doors in May 2015.

The super-regional mall is a sight to behold with its striking architectural design and comprehensive mix of 250 retail brand stores, restaurants, bars and entertainment facilities including a cinema with an IMAX screen and an ice rink.

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BT Ngebs

CONSTRUCTION | Billion Group

Baywest Mall

Resource GlobalNetwork Network African Business Since its opening, Baywest Mall has consistently performed above expectations and has taken Billion’s catalyst development strategy to new heights by acting as a stepping stone for a much bigger project.

Baywest City The mall has proved to be just the beginning of the Baywest development, with the landmark Baywest City set to follow it over the next 15 years. Dubbed ‘a city within a city’, Billion has taken sole responsibility for the development of the wide-reaching urban development node.

“We have identified Baywest as a growth point for Nelson Mandela Bay and as such, we are working very closely with the local government’s economic development department in order to ensure that we take responsible care of the development of the precinct.”

The development will, over 300 hectares of urban space, have 6,000 residential units and a number of commercial offices, industrial centres of commercial offices, industrial centres, parks, schools and other various public facilities, many of which are already under construction.

“We are in the process of securing a national hospital group for the precinct. The license has already been awarded so the next step will be the roll out of that, which is imminent,” explains van Staden.

“Then the rest of the growth surrounding

CONSTRUCTION | Billion Group the shopping mall involves government and commercial offices, restaurants and a major residential development that will be backed up by schools and other supportive institutions.”

To have the roots of a brand new urban development shoot up from the construction of a retail mall represents the purest attainment of Billion Group’s growth-inducing and society building strategy.

The company has always maintained that Baywest City represents much more than just a large-scale development project, but an opportunity to advance the lives of many through job creation and the construction of an inclusive, fully serviced and integrated community.

“The biggest thing that we want to try and establish in all of our precincts is job creation, and raising the standards of living for the people around us.

“We aim to create a model with mutual benefits between the community and the precinct, and a sustainable development, which is what we are doing at Baywest City.”

Sustainability Sustainability has recently become a buzzword among South African construction companies, but for Billion Group sustainable development means much more than just environmentally friendly business practises.

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Forest Hill

CONSTRUCTION | Billion Group

Particularly throughout the Baywest City

community-minded approach to the project

development, sustainability has been

will allow Baywest City to eventually flourish

consistently defined along the lines of how

into a contemporary urban centre that

the planned growth will positively impact the

people will aspire to be a part of.

community within the precinct.

During the remainder of 2017, Billion “We are very much focused on community

Group aims to continue on the long path

and making sure that it is not a one-sided

towards the grand unveiling of the Baywest

approach, the community is all part of the

City project, while also looking to develop

growth experience of the development.�

sustainable growth opportunities around its existing precincts.

Consequently, Billion believes this

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Hemmingways “The short to medium term goal is to

Billion’s winning strategy, whereby it

strengthen our nodes to make sure that

creates a thriving retail centre in locations

there is business outside the malls that

earmarked for future growth, has guaranteed

can feed back in and vice-versa,” notes van

the company further success, as more

Staden.

development opportunities arise in the area.

“We’ve got a very exciting pipeline there are plenty of opportunities floating around and

CONTACT

it’s going to be a great two to three years for our development opportunities around our precincts.”

http://www.billiongroup.co.za info@billiongroup.co.za +27 (0) 11 511 5335

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