Aucor Property basks in strategic big sales

Aucor Property Head of Commercial Mark Kleynhans says we went into 2014 with a consecutive outlook- the last quarter of 2013 was challenging from a macro-economic perspective despite what was seen to be a good festive season from a retail perspective.

The Aucor Property group is basking in strategic sales following big sales involving the Douglasdale Village Shopping Centre in Johannesburg and the Siyabuswa Shopping Centre in Mpumalanga that fetched R87,775 and R34.5-millions, respectively in the first quarter of 2014.

Mark Kleynhans, Head of Commercial for Aucor Property had this to say about the sales: “We went into 2014 with a consecutive outlook- the last quarter of 2013 was challenging from a macro-economic perspective despite what was seen to be a good festive season from a retail perspective."

He said that both investors and property owners who are either buying or selling properties were too careful in their approach because of the looming elections this month whose outcome may not be predicted.

He said that the Douglasdale shopping centre as an example, shows that the market does have the appetite for the right property in the right location and that despite consumers slowing down on spend over the past year, good retail offerings which are comprised mostly of essential products and services at a localised level, are a win in the market.

"These types of centres will always have a good mix of tenants who are comfortable to engage in long term leases as they know they will see a return on being in the right location, making this type of property attractive to the savvy investor," said Kleynhans.

The Siyabuswa shopping centre is situated in the area of Marble Hall and is directly just a road across the main taxi rank.

The centre has got a good mix of tenants, among them a national big supermarket chain, banks, a furniture store and a cellphone shop.

Kleynhans says the two shopping centres were a good example of how demand for good services and products can at the same time compare with locations with their type of properties, especially in emerging markets where there is good passing trade and customers have money to spend on products.

He added that some big name brands were still about to list as new tenants at both the Douglasdale and Siyabuswa shopping centres, concludes Kleynhans.