ATTACQ: Architect of Development and Progress

Attacq is firmly positioned as one of South Africa’s preeminent Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), supported by one of the most comprehensive and diverse real estate portfolios in the country worth over R28 billion in total asset value. “Attacq creates safe, sustainable spaces where people can connect, unwind and thrive,” the company condenses, “and delivers exceptional and sustainable growth through its real estate investments and its developments in Waterfall City, Waterfall Logistics Hub and retail precincts.”

Targeting exceptional and sustainable growth, Attacq has accumulated a high-quality and diverse South African property portfolio that takes in the retail, hotel, office, mixed-use and light industrial sectors. “Attacq has a geographically diverse portfolio with property investments and developments in South Africa, retail investments in the rest of Africa and a strategic investment in MAS, which has a presence in Central and Eastern Europe.”

FLAGSHIP VANTAGE CAMPUS

To date, the obvious standout within the enviable Attacq armoury has been the immense Waterfall City and Logistics Hub, the signature mixed-use development set in an unparalleled location between Pretoria and Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa’s commercial centre. “The Waterfall development consists of Waterfall City, an integrated city that works, alongside Waterfall Logistics Hub; this is Gauteng’s logistics hub of choice, and includes light industrial and warehousing,” the company explains.

“It is a truly connected hub, a fully-integrated lifestyle which offers a complete work-life package and features everything you would expect in a vibrant, modern destination.”

Now Vantage Data Centers, itself behind the design, development and operation of some of the world’s most flexible and scalable data centres, has announced its plans to invest over R15 billion in its first‐ever African campus. This expansion into the continent will take the form of a flagship Johannesburg site within Waterfall City, in the heart of Africa’s largest data centre market. “The 80MW campus will help foster economic growth, stimulate job creation and lead the way in energy‐efficient design,” Attacq assesses.

A data centre is a dedicated space for servers and IT equipment, and Vantage is a leading global provider of hyperscale campuses, which amplify this to comprise in some instances hundreds of thousands of servers. Vantage’s carrier‐neutral Johannesburg location will include 60,000 square metres of data space across three facilities once fully developed, to position it as the largest on the continent.

“Johannesburg is the data centre hub for sub‐Saharan Africa due to its strategic location, IT ecosystem, fibre connectivity to the rest of Africa and the availability of renewable energy,” enthuses Antoine Boniface, Vantage EMEA President, who recognises the potentially huge wider impact of an African campus in creating a cost‐effective digital infrastructure solution for myriad fintech companies and local businesses.

“With a scalable, fit‐for‐future logistics hub and a world‐class corporate campus, Waterfall City has an established track record of attracting leading international businesses such as BMW, PwC, Massbuild, Cotton On and Cummins to the precinct,” Attacq CEO Jackie van Niekerk reveals. “Attacq is working with Vantage to build a campus that is tailored to meet the organisation’s global requirements while still leveraging Waterfall’s unique capacity to scale its tenant footprints according to evolving company and market demand.”

ANYTHING BUT MIXED RESULTS

Attacq has also seen real success with Waterfall’s latest high-rise residential development, The Mix Waterfall, which is approaching sales of R200 million attributed to buyers originating from South Africa, Botswana, Dubai and Zimbabwe. These numbers are made all the more remarkable considering its launch date of July last year, during the height of one of the most destructive waves of the Covid-19 pandemic and the multitude of lockdowns experienced in Gauteng.

In what is a highly competitive residential market, Giles Pendleton, Attacq’s Chief Development Officer explained that high-rise living has emerged as a far more sustainable alternative to the footprint of freestanding homes. “We have seen a move in real estate from large houses, and the accompanying maintenance, to a lock-up‐and‐go solution,” he relays. “More and more people are starting to look towards an apartment-style environment that gives access to a myriad of facilities right on their doorstep.”

Upon completion The Mix will consist of 391 furnished micro apartments and has been carefully tailored to the country’s emerging young talent, not least in its proximity to the headquarters of many blue‐chip companies, and represents the ideal location for budding professionals looking for the unbeatable blend of convenience and world-class amenities it affords.

“The success is testament to the fact that this development provides a convenient around-the-clock lifestyle that residents within Waterfall thrive on,” assessed Robin Magid, founder and director of D2E Properties. “We believe that the high sales volumes are due to the combination of a desirable product and the revolutionary online platform configured to accommodate buyers during the COVID-19 pandemic.” 

Attacq’s combination of a precinct-centric development strategy, willingness to embrace new technological advancements, people-first mindset, and focused customer experience approach allowed it to record an impressive year close. A robust financial and operational performance was supported by a well-considered capital structure improvement programme and a strategy of informed disposals such as the Deloitte head office, Massbuild distribution centre and the Amrod building, all recently completed and at close to their valuations.

“In spite of the headwinds, the business has delivered a solid performance we can be proud of,” reflected van Niekerk. “It’s been another year of flux for the real estate sector in South Africa – and across the globe – but during our 2021 financial year we were committed to being agile and responsive to the evolving operating environment. We ensured that we improved our capital structure, optimised our operations and will be embracing the various business disruption to continue to pioneer our business.

“We continue to create value for our clients whilst pursuing growth opportunities aligned with our strategic focus that embraces business disruption. While Attacq has remained focused on delivering on the financial and operational strategy, and we are extremely gratified to see this flow through in company performance, it is our team’s ability to roll with the punches and adapt at pace that has helped us keep moving forward so steadily.

“We have endured many storms as a company and as a country, so please continue to deepen your roots. We will undoubtedly continue to do so at Attacq.”