PRETOR GROUP: Game Changing Pretor One Opens New Doors

South Africa’s Pretor Group is a leading provider of diversified property services with a reputation for delivery of the highest standards. Managing residential, commercial, and retail properties, the company has vast experience of the industry and can provide confidence and certainty in a market crowded with challenges.

Because of the value of assets in the property space, special care and attention is required when it comes to management and sustainability. Whether it’s rent collection, tenant sourcing and screening, levy collection, and the management of gated communities or organising financial services to protect and support a portfolio, Pretor Group can assist.

MD Giles Von Broembsen tells Enterprise Africa that investment into new IT systems alongside refinement of target markets has helped Pretor to grow and thrive during a time of weak economic performance in South Africa. He is confident that partnership with the company can only drive success for clients, allowing them to focus on what they do.

“We are a relatively niche property manager and we have redesigned our commercial offering around the market. We do not manage big retail centres anymore as institutional buyers generally have inhouse management but rather focus on providing a full house service to individuals or consortiums that privately hold properties. In residential letting, we have a portfolio of around 1500 units. What has developed into the biggest part of our business is the management of gated communities or housing schemes. There, we have around 60,000 clients.”

To manage such a large portfolio, innovative and industry-leading software is required, and this agile business has developed its own.  

“We are one of the few property companies in SA that has built a system to cater specifically for South African Sectional Title and Home Owner Association requirements that is based on SAP Business One as the back end, but the functionality is ours alone,” says Von Broembsen of the impressive offering. “Pretor One is our custom built, client facing IT system, operating in real time and is our second biggest expense after salaries with a team of in house developers who constantly improve that.”

Today, Pretor is home to 160 people, all experts in the industry, with deep knowledge and expertise across a wide range of related functions. This number has grown, and will continue to grow as the company’s influence develops. More than 24,000 homes in estates, 36,000 sectional title homes, 1500 rentals, and 24,000 homes insured trust Pretor Group to provide service excellence and, by investing in cutting edge technology, that is exactly what Von Broembsen is aiming for – but always in an efficient manner.

“I did a calculation and worked out that, at if we were running the business now in the same way we were in 2003, we would need 360 staff,” he says. “Digitisation has made an enormous difference, as well as integration with the banks. The big drive for us is allowing clients to help themselves anytime of the day or night. If you compare our industry to banking, previously, you would go to a branch, deposit a cheque, deal with a teller, stand in a queue – everyone hated it. Now, you do it at your own pace in your own time and it fits. Innovation has changed the banking experience. That is what we want to get to, where people can transact with us in their own time, at the own convenience. It’s a constant driver of our development processes.”

This type of digital-first approach will allow property stakeholders and even individual vendors to communicate with Pretor quickly and easily, 24/7 access to clear financial information, managing payments and receipts while having a clear picture of the health of assets at any time. Following the pandemic and with ongoing economic turmoil and fallout, this kind of clarity and certainty is required for effective decision making.

“In the commercial space, there are lot of well-developed systems and we use one of them. In the rental space, our system is efficient but it is not yet ground-breaking. In the community scheme space, there is nothing in SA that can deliver the same functionality,” explains Von Broembsen.

BEHAVIOUR CHANGE

Property was perhaps one of the key, major industries impacted by the pandemic because of the global changes in people movement as a result of lockdowns and restrictions. Office spaces were abandoned, warehouses and factories closed, and even some residential spaces like student accommodation left dormant. For Pretor Group, the period was unusual but not damaging because of changes in behaviour.

“Covid has driven foot traffic to local shopping centres and we are finding that is our swing space. We manage a number of smaller shopping centres and so we have been very productive. That is a behaviour change that will take some time to undo,” suggests Von Broembsen. “People still don’t want to be in confined spaces that are highly populated. They like the convenience of shopping somewhere where you can park in front of the shop.”

Servicing these spaces – many of which are home to food retailers that stayed open throughout the pandemic – was essential. 

“There has been pressure on the economy as a whole but because we are a service industry, owners still need to pay levies to continue to pay for security, garden services, lights and water. We have seen an increase in debtor numbers but not something that has materially impacted our portfolio or our clients. On the rental side, we did see an impact through Covid as a lot of people moved in with family members where possible. Now, we are finding that there is a stronger demand for rentals again and with the increased return to office, the market is more robust. In the management space, Covid has been less impactful than in the property development space,” details Von Broembsen.

Managing through the period without staff cutbacks is viewed by most as a success and the size and scale of Pretor Group helped it to navigate smoothly, not only surviving but building a robust base for future growth.

“We have enjoyed aggressive expansion and our client base is six times what it was 20 years ago. We are not looking to expand geographically but we do see a lot of growth opportunity in our current market,” says the MD, hinting at exploration to further integrate utility services across large complexes with the goal of convenience, cost saving, and achievement of environmental goals.

“Loadshedding is making the energy transition more complex,” he adds. “Solar panels work wonderfully well but you cannot currently feed back into the grid with excess supply. Storage is expensive and difficult to carry through a full loadshedding period on a complex – which necessitates a generator. There was a lot of traction for solar to supplement electrical services on a number of complexes but lack of storage capacity during loadshedding has made that more difficult.  That is the next step on our IT journey – managing all aspects in one system, including notifying people of when there could be a leak or when there could be over consumption.

“We want to integrate with multiple service providers and pull through the data correctly so that we ca provide functionality correctly. We want to give the client a one-stop shop, with a wider range of services rather than trying to grow into a brand new space.”

As this concept builds momentum, a complex or community owner will enjoy ever increasing service offerings and added functionality when entrusting the management to Pretor Group, on a modern system, which leaves nothing to chance. This is not something easily replicated.

“There are competitors but it is difficult to enter this market because of the start-up costs. You need a bulk of clients to make it viable and that takes time. The regulatory requirements are very high and there is a lot of reporting and specialised knowledge required,” explains Von Broembsen.

RED TAPE HURDLES

Pretor Group is an active industry participant and commits a significant amount of time and energy to regulatory and governance compliance. Devoted to excellence, energetic in upliftment, and building a legacy as a responsible corporate citizen, the company faces challenges head on. Most recently, the introduction of the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA) – under the Department of Human Settlements – has driven a fresh need to reorganise and Von Broembsen explains that for the property management industry, there remains a lot of confusion.

“While we fall under the ambit, it is centred around estate agents which is  not our business at all. There are multiple challenges because of that, and it creates further barriers to entry,” he says. “You want regulation that is thought through and applicable. Right now, there is no clarity on who has to register as an agent – we have 160 staff and we don’t officially know who will need to register. If someone has to register, then you have to complete exams, and these are geared towards estate agents, which is not relevant to our staff. In the long run it will be good, but in the short term it creates uncertainty.”

Thankfully, Pretor Group has unrivalled experience in the industry and is able to deal with changes quickly and effectively. Despite being a larger employer, the company remains nimble and flexible, with employees and clients at its heart. Going forward, Von Broembsen’s personal ambitions are to continue striving to foster warm and inclusive workplace.  

“In the past 12 years, we have transitioned from a business that was ‘family run’, to a corporate structure where you need to implement governance structures. With 50 people, you can develop relationships with all employees and leverage the growth through those relationships. With 160 people, you have to bring in structures and systems that entrench values into the business. You need to ensure people represent and live those values, and you have to be very transparent,” he says.

By taking a digital approach, and by placing speedy service quality at the top of the agenda, Pretor has built a list of delighted clients and will continue to grow as the community housing scheme industry continues to boom across SA.

Choosing Pretor frees you up for what matters most – your life, while protecting your property assets at all times.