This developer of township and rural malls has just listed
on the JSE, and dismisses market talk that SA’s retail landscape is
oversaturated
It has been an eventful few weeks for Jason McCormick, the
CEO of Exemplar REITail, the first sizeable property company to make its debut
on the JSE in 18 months. The listing of the Pretoria-based family’s R5.5bn
shopping centre portfolio last week followed shortly after the birth of McCormick’s
second child. It also coincided with a trip to Laikipia in Kenya where
McCormick, an avid conservationist, is playing in the Last Male Standing Rhino
Cup — a cricket tournament to raise awareness of the plight of the near-extinct
northern white rhino.
Wearing multiple hats is nothing unusual for McCormick, who
also sits on the sub-Saharan Africa advisory board of the International Council
of Shopping Centres.
He is a licensed pilot, and keen photographer and fly fisherman.
McCormick joined the family business, McCormick Property Development, in 2002
after completing a BCom (Hons) in economics and management at Stellenbosch
University.
The company, which was founded by his father John in 1983,
was a pioneer in bringing formal retail facilities to townships and rural
areas. John built his first retail property in Mogwadi (then known as Dendron),
a small village 62km northwest of Polokwane. “In those days most
developers were building shiny malls in the big cities. But my dad wanted to
make a difference in people’s lives. He knew he could put money back in the
pockets of local communities if they didn’t have to travel 60km just to buy
groceries,” says McCormick.
The company has since built more than 50 shopping centres
that cater to underserviced township, rural and peri-urban communities.
Exemplar’s listed portfolio comprises 20 shopping centres with an average size
of 20,000m². Flagship properties include Alex Mall in Sandton’s Alexandra
township, Emoyeni Mall in Nelspruit, Chris Hani Crossing in Vosloorus (Gauteng),
Blouberg Mall in Bochum (Limpopo), and Lusiki Plaza in Lusikisiki (Eastern
Cape).
Exemplar’s JSE listing wasn’t accompanied by an initial public offering.
However, the company has a R10bn development pipeline of 26 shopping centres
that it hopes to roll out over the next five years. “So we will definitely do a
capital raise at some point to help fund new projects,” McCormick says. He
concedes that the rural and township retail sector has become increasingly
competitive, with a number of developers entering this space in recent years.
However, he believes Exemplar’s competitive advantage is its track record.
“We also own the best-located sites for future developments,” says McCormick,
who started to “landbank” undeveloped erven in 2008 when he realised other
retail developers were starting to muscle in on Exemplar’s territory. ”That’s
why we now have such a strong pipeline of new opportunities.” These include the
60,000m² Capital Mall that will soon break ground on the western outskirts of
Pretoria as well as a 43,000m² mall earmarked for Tembisa on the East Rand.
McCormick says there is also an opportunity to acquire
underperforming, existing centres where Exemplar can add value through
redevelopment and re-tenanting initiatives. He dismisses market talk that SA’s
retail landscape is saturated. While upper-income urban areas may well be overshopped,
McCormick says it will take at least another five years before rural and
peri-urban areas are adequately serviced. “But it’s not a cookie-cutter
model. You have to understand the market and build the right size on the right
site.”
02 Oct 2024
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12 Sep 2024
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