Case Studies
Case Studies
How We Add Value
We buy well-located property that others overlook, fix what needs fixing, let it to good tenants and manage it ourselves. These projects show what that looks like in practice, in South Africa and the United States. Some involved major rebuilding. Others show the everyday side of the business: a good property, bought well and run well.
United States
The Platform
South End, Charlotte, North Carolina
Two vacant 1945 warehouses turned into a new retail, restaurant and office destination on Charlotte's light rail.
- Size
- 44,026 sq ft
- 4,090 m², including roof terraces
- Bought
- October 2019
- US$4.4 million (US$157 per sq ft)
- Built
- 2021 to 2023
- Construction June 2021 to February 2023
- Total cost
- US$22.4 million
- US$508 per sq ft, including land and finance costs
- Occupancy
- 0% → 100%
- Fully let by May 2024
- Value
- US$27.0 million
- US$613 per sq ft, independent valuation (CBRE, November 2023)
Before
In 2019 we bought two empty 1945 industrial buildings on South Boulevard, in Charlotte's fast-growing South End, right next to the Blue Line light rail and the Rail Trail. The buildings earned no rent.
What we did
We demolished one building and replaced it with a new three-storey building with a roof terrace, and kept and retrofitted the original 1945 building for restaurants and shops. The site has ~100 parking bays on a road that carries more than 29,000 vehicles a day.
The result
The Platform was completed in February 2023 and was fully let by May 2024 to retail, fitness and restaurant tenants at ~US$39 per sq ft a year (net). It was independently valued at US$27.0 million, against a total cost of US$22.4 million.
South Africa
Midrand Mall
202 Old Pretoria Road, Midrand, Gauteng
One shopping centre on two erven in Midrand, run on the basics and built on its real strength: independent, family-run traders.
- Size
- 19,100 m²
- One centre on two erven, 6.8 hectares
- Cost
- R231.8 million
- Bought July 2023 (~R12,500 per m²)
- Tenant mix
- ~65% independents
- Family-run traders are the centre's strength
- Finished
- 2 drive-thrus
- Nando's and Burger King, completed after we took over
- Occupancy
- 100%
- Maintained, with a waiting list
- Value
- R340 million
- Bank valuation, January 2026
When we bought it
In July 2023 we bought Midrand Mall on Old Pretoria Road, minutes from the N1: one shopping centre on two erven, with a China Town wing of independent traders and about 120 leases in all. It cost us R231.8 million.
How we run it
We kept to the basics: we spent money fixing what needed fixing, finished the Nando's and Burger King drive-thrus, redid the signage and renovated the centre management office. Above all, we understood the centre's niche. Other buyers worried that it lacked the usual 70% national tenants. We saw that its independent, family-run traders are its strength, and played to it.
The result
Midrand Mall stays fully let with a waiting list, rents are growing with strong annual escalations, and the bank values it at R340 million against the R231.8 million it cost us in 2023.
South Africa
Salt River
Salt River, Cape Town
Old Salt River clothing factories turned into offices, shops and a hotel school, with one of Cape Town's first large rooftop solar systems.
- Size
- 15,741 m²
- 169,400 sq ft across three buildings
- Bought
- 2011 to 2013
- 97 Durham Avenue, 127 and 121 Cecil Road
- Cost
- R133 million
- ~R8,460 per m², purchase R51 million plus conversion
- Rent
- R33 → R180 per m²
- Industrial rent at purchase, gross rent today
- Occupancy
- 70% → 100%
- As of September 2025
- Value
- R250 million
- ~R15,900 per m², independent valuation (February 2025)
Before
97 Durham Avenue was the old PALS clothing factory: ~11,900 m² of industrial space, 30% vacant, with rents of ~R33 per m² and the main tenant downsizing. We bought it in 2011 and added 127 and 121 Cecil Road over the next two years.
What we did
Working within Cape Town's Salt River urban development zone, we converted the factory floors into modern offices, retail and education space, turned 121 Cecil Road into a three-storey parkade with ~214 bays and shops at street level, and in 2015 installed a 211 kW rooftop solar system, one of the first two installations of its kind in Cape Town.
The result
The buildings house tenants such as the International Hotel School. They were fully let as of September 2025, with rents now ~R180 per m² gross, and were independently valued at R250 million in February 2025.
United States
3715 Union Road
Gastonia, North Carolina
A fully let medical office building, bought in 2018 and simply run well. No redevelopment: good tenants, looked after.
- Size
- 19,262 sq ft
- 1,790 m² on 3.12 acres, built in 1999
- Bought
- December 2018
- US$3.3 million (US$171 per sq ft)
- Main tenant
- Atrium Health
- ~82% of the space, on a renewed lease
- Renewals
- 3 of 3 tenants
- Every lease renewed as it came up
- Occupancy
- 100%
- One small suite re-let
- Value
- US$4.55 million
- US$236 per sq ft (September 2026)
When we bought it
In December 2018 we bought a fully let medical office building on Union Road in Gastonia, west of Charlotte. Most of it is let to Atrium Health's Riverwood Medical Associates practice, with a rehabilitation clinic in most of the rest.
How we run it
There was no big rebuild. Our own team manages the building day to day: we replaced ageing air-conditioning units, refaced the street sign, re-let the one suite that fell vacant to MaidPro, and renewed every lease as it came up.
The result
The building is fully let, Atrium Health has renewed its lease, and the property is valued at US$4.55 million against a purchase price of US$3.3 million.
South Africa
Springs Industrial Park
166 Watt Road, New Era, Springs, Gauteng
A run-down 1950s industrial park bought at ~R1,000 per m², repaired, re-let and fitted with solar.
- Size
- 15,218 m²
- 163,800 sq ft across two properties
- Bought
- 2022 and 2024
- 166 Watt Road (Dec 2022), 58 Watt Road (Jul 2024)
- Cost
- R15.4 million
- ~R1,000 per m²
- Upgrades
- R4.7 million
- Roofs, refurbishment and 83 kWp of rooftop solar
- Occupancy
- 40% → 95%
- 166 Watt Road at purchase, park today
- Value
- R38.2 million
- ~R2,500 per m² (September 2026)
Before
The park dates from 1951. When we bought 166 Watt Road in 2022, the roofs were badly corroded, only ~40% of the space was let at ~R25 per m², and the seller was moving out of the rest. In 2024 we added the neighbouring 58 Watt Road, which was just over half let.
What we did
We repaired, waterproofed and repainted the roofs, refurbished 58 Watt Road and installed an 83 kWp rooftop solar system in 2024, which produces ~155 MWh a year. In all, ~R4.7 million went into capital upgrades, on top of ongoing repairs.
The result
The park is now 95% let to small and medium industrial businesses at ~R39 per m² gross, and is valued at ~R2,500 per m², against a purchase price of ~R1,000 per m².
Figures are rounded and in nominal terms. Values are independent valuations or the latest book value at the dates shown. Past results do not indicate future results, and nothing on this page is an offer to invest.