I H J
feature
Market leading property management JHI eyes further expansion as the property management market shows signs of recovery.
JHI FEATURE
J
HI is an all-round property services company. It offers investment and fund formation, valuations, facilities management and planning, propery development and management, retail management/leasing and consulting, maintenance planning, leasing and sales, residential development, and legal services, as well as tenant and occupier solutions, and public sector management consulting and advisory services. As if all that wasn’t enough, it also engages in managing retail, industrial, and commercial properties, including retail space, single and multi-tenant blocks, mini-factories, warehouses, industrial parks, shopping centres, houses, flats, and hotels. “JHI operates in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban, Bloemfontein, Namibia, Zambia, Lesotho, Mozambique, Ghana, and Saudi Arabia,” says JHI’s CEO, Marna van der Walt, who is eager to continue to grow the company. “As an all-round property services company, we offer a wide range of services.” A flexible commercial strategy has been the driving force behind JHI’s success for the past couple of years. The company was formerly known as Gensec Property Services and the name was changed in 2007, following a merger between Gensec and
JHI Real Estate. It has since expanded operations beyond South Africa’s borders as van der Walt says. “We have an impressive geographical footprint. We mostly focus on retail, commercial and industrial sectors and offer a variety of services.” JHI has approximately R41 billion of assets under management, including 1,035 buildings and 7.7 million sq m of floor space. Its portfolio of projects includes the Greenstone Shopping Centre and the PWC building, both in Johannesburg.
SIGNS OF RECOVERY So what is the current state of the industry? Well, JHI sees signs of recovery in several sectors. Indeed, since the start of 2010 the demand for commercial space for instance including retail and offices - has seen an upturn. “The demand in retail has picked up driven by improved performance in the manufacturing sector where production has been on an upswing. This demand is from a broad crosssection of businesses,” says van der Walt. JHI recently reported increased demand for warehousing accommodation in the Johannesburg area, as an example, mainly regarding light manufacturing, distribution and storage facilities. www.southafricamag.com
3
JHI FEATURE
The current demand is mainly in the size range from 500-1000sq m as well as for larger warehousing space up to approximately 5,000sq m and above. “The demand is from both distribution and warehousing operations as well as from those seeking to consolidate operations for increased cost effectiveness,” says van der Walt.
EASTERN PROMISE The economic slump undoubtedly affected business, but with effective strategies in place JHI has coped admirably and is looking forward to better times ahead. Yes, some projects were shelved in 2009, but this year has seen a definite upturn. “We have benefited from our diversity,” says van der Walt. “As we speak are planning to continue our expansion into Africa and increase that diversity.”
4
www.southafricamag.com
JHI has just announced its intentions to expand its African footprint into Zimbabwe and Tanzania, while assessing business opportunities in Mauritius and Swaziland. “We are currently exploring Asian partnerships to further our African expansions,” says van der Walt. This is an interesting aspect and JHI is looking to ‘partner’ with international property developers when investing in new projects. Recently, van der Walt, together with other key executives of the company, visited China on an educational tour and viewed 15 shopping complexes or malls in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing. “Shopping malls in China tend to be from six to 12 storeys high, ranging in size from 120,000-300,000sq m . A good size mall is visited by at least 100,000 or more shoppers a
9001_CCS_MagAd_85x223_P.pdf
1
2010/09/10
12:26 PM
day – and more on public holidays, which is extremely high when compared with South African malls,” she notes. In the medium to longer term, the east will have a major impact on the property landscape in Africa van der Walt says. “That is why it is important to understand their property business models and view some of the work they are doing.”
TRAINING FOCUS As you can tell, JHI is a company keen on learning. This culture runs right through the organisation. With a workforce totalling more than 600 people, it has invested heavily in human resources and in-house training and continues to do so. “Training is essential when it comes to customer care, operations and operational excellence,” says van der Walt. Part of the motivation behind training staff has been JHI’s successful implementation of South Africa’s Black Economic Empowerment initiative. JHI is 35 percent black owned and has been actively involved in the development of black owned and empowered SMMEs within the property field. A lot of training is provided by SETA, but JHI runs a number of in-house training programmes also. “We look for people that have focus, integrity and exceptional customer services skills,” says van der Walt. Quality not quantity is the key to its success. As its website says: “Our skills-base, technology platform and entrepreneurial spirit will support your business, from identifying opportunities, to extracting value from your property or property portfolio, to more efficient management of your projects and properties. We have a powerful range of tools at our disposal in order to participate in the management, strategy and execution of your property needs.” END C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
www.southafricamag.com
5
South Africa Magazine, Suite 9 and 10, The Royal, Bank Plain, Norwich, Norfolk, UK. NR2 4SF TNT Magazine, 14-15 Child’s Place, Earl’s Court, London, UK. SW5 9RX Enquiries Telephone: 0044 (0)1603 343267 Fax: 0044 (0)1603 283602 emailus@southafricamag.com Subscriptions Call: 00441603 283573 subscriptions@southafricamag.com
www.southafricamag.com
JHI Place 2 Norwich Close Sandton Johannesburg, 2196 Tel: 011 911-8000 Fax: 011 911-8146
www.jhi.co.za