Nedbank Finances R700m Development of Ingenuity's Prime Asset

Artist rendering of the R700 million Ingenuity's Santam Head Office in Tygervalley financed by Nedbank Corporate Property Finance.

Cape, continues to show its commitment to the listed property sector by providing tailor-made loan facilities to the value of R700 million to Ingenuity Property Investments Limited, of which R336 million is earmarked for new projects including the development of the fund's prime asset.

Managed and directed by long-standing and highly-regarded property players in Cape Town including Arnold Maresky and Leon Cohen, Ingenuity is a listed property company with assets in excess of R880 million, which will increase substantially over the next 12 to 18 months as planned developments are completed.

The most notable of these plans is the development of a new office building adjacent to Santam’s existing head office in Tygervalley, Bellville, which will be occupied by Santam and Glacier Financial Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sanlam.

The site was acquired by Ingenuity in 2008 and features a vacant piece of land and two existing buildings -both of which were purpose designed for Santam. The property is the prime asset in Ingenuity's portfolio of properties, offering beautiful views which are maximised by glass passenger lifts. It is ideally located on the corner of Carl Cronje Drive and Bill Bezuidenhout Drive in the most sought-after area within the Tygervalley node of Bellville, just north of the N1.

The area is regarded as Cape Town’s second CBD – after Century City – and the site is considered one of the best in the Northern suburbs given its location directly opposite the popular Tygervalley Waterfront and the Tygervalley Shopping Centre, which is undergoing renovations and expansion; and adjacent to the Velodrome site, which will be developed into a mixed-use scheme, similar to Melrose Arch in Johannesburg, within the next five to10 years. 

Drawing on its expertise and experience as the market leader in the commercial property finance industry, Nedbank Corporate Property Finance Cape tailored a custom-made finance deal for Ingenuity which will allow the fund to invest R200 million into the development of this new A-grade office block.

The new building will provide 10 250m2 of additional gross lettable area (GLA) and a further 581 parking bays to the site. In total, when combined with the existing buildings, the site will feature around 27 500m2 of GLA and 1 060 parking bays. The building is currently being assessed by the Green Building Council of South Africa and, upon completion, will receive 4-Star Green Star SA Office As Built certification.

The development team includes industry heavy-weights such as WBHO as the building contractor, JD Reitz Consulting and Bigen Africa as the engineers, Bam Architects and town planners Urban Dynamics. 

"As a result of our expertise and professional approach towards development funding and our continued commitment to the listed property sector, Nedbank Corporate Property Finance: Cape was Ingenuity's first choice when it came to selecting a finance partner," comments Richard Thomas, Regional Executive Nedbank Corporate Property Finance: Cape. "We are proud to be part of this significant property development, which will transform a development opportunity into a prime blue chip asset for Ingenuity due to the development's superb location and the value of the two existing buildings, estimated at half a billion rand. What’s more, as South Africa’s ‘Green Bank’ and first carbon neutral financial institution, Nedbank is committed to sustainability and our involvement in this – and numerous other Green buildings – illustrates this.

The Ingenuity fund is tightly held and the individuals behind the fund represent impressive collective expertise and experience in the property industry. These astute businessmen, backed by a strong development team and tailor-made finance from Nedbank Corporate Property Finance Cape, are expected to increase their existing asset base substantially over the coming months as value is unlocked in their large development portfolio, making Ingenuity a listed property fund to watch over the next few years," concludes Thomas.