As a <a href="https://www.economist.com/briefing/2020/04/11/the-changes-covid-19-is-forcing-on-to-business" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recent Economist article</a> noted, the Covid-19 pandemic looks set to change business forever, for better or for worse. One of these changes will involve businesses being forced into embracing digital faster than they would have chosen to, if they'd chosen to do it at all before now.

So what does "embracing digital" look like? Is it simply about switching to Microsoft Teams or Zoom calls? Is it about implementing infrastructure so that clients, employees and other stakeholders can interact remotely? Or is it about changing an entire mindset towards the possibility that the way we do business is changing for months or even years to come?

The answer is probably all of the above. Overall, embracing a digital future isn't just about installing clever tech - it's about seeing how your business can best service its market in a post-Covid world.

As Harvard Business Review notes, <a href="https://hbr.org/2020/05/digital-transformation-is-about-talent-not-technology" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">digital transformation is not about technology - it's about people</a>. The authors' suggestions for businesses wanting to be fully digitally transformed include putting people first (i.e. reskilling and upskilling employees) and focusing on soft skills. As the authors note, "The best way to make your organisation more data-centric and digital is to selectively invest in those who are most adaptable, curious, and flexible in the first place."

Together with this, businesses succeeding in this area are driving change from the top down, through leaders who are fully sold on the idea, and see it is a priority in all their strategic decisions.

Then there's the notion of acting on data insights. While your company may have the latest tech tools available, there's little point in them unless you can take insights from the data they're gathering and then act on them to make your business more competitive.

Bringing this back to the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, in his article <a href="https://medium.com/@levonrivers/innovation-in-the-pandemic-age-i-v-264f16a6e08b" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Innovation for the Pandemic Age</a>, Levon Rivers interviews several key South African players in different industries, and how they're seeing businesses and entire sectors shift to survive in these unprecedented times. A key theme seems to be first understanding exactly how human behaviour and priorities are shifting, and then catering to those needs. Examples include a car company digitising the sales funnel, a drink and brewery company pivoting to produce distilled alcohol in order to manufacture hand sanitiser, and an estate agency embracing virtual viewings. For commercial property, this could also be applied - as well as realising that people's needs are changing when it comes to offices: whether it's a different floor plan allowing for social distancing to more digital platforms so that those working remotely can still operate effectively in a team where core members are in the office.

Overall, going digital and embracing the post-Covid world for your business isn't about having the fanciest, shiniest tech platforms. Rather, it's about thinking about how your business can continue to be agile and functional in a world where physical proximity may look completely different. Whether that's a temporary shift or a permanent one, the key is to be adaptable enough to be able to thrive in any of these scenarios. Technology then simply becomes a tool to help you achieve this vision.

Business in a post-Covid world: it's about talent, not technology

As of this Friday, South Africa moves into phase 4 of the phased approach towards easing lockdown and restarting the economy. If you're a business returning to work, you may be feeling some unease about getting back out into the world (and the workplace) amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Here are 5 things you should think about when it comes to you and your employees returning to work:

Ensure the safety and wellbeing of your workers

Your biggest priority with the return to work is to make sure that your employees are as protected as possible from contracting the coronavirus. This means implementing stringent hygiene protocols at your office, including issuing personal protective equipment (such as masks), installing hand sanitiser stations, implementing social distancing in terms of desk layout, and educating your employees about other personal safety measures such as frequent and thorough hand washing. There should also be protocols in place for health screening and reporting any sick employees to your provincial health authority. The health plan also should include trying to ensure that people can get to and from work safely, which could include, for example, avoiding public transport by implementing a shared lift scheme in a private vehicle.

Clean and disinfect your workplace

As part of your commitment to ensuring the safety of your employees, implement a deep clean and disinfecting of your workplace. First decide which areas should be cleaned, and then apply all surfaces with government-approved disinfectants. Think about common areas and surfaces, bathrooms, shared office equipment, kitchen areas and meeting rooms.

Talk to your landlord

As you return to work, you need to face any potential financial crises when it comes to being able to afford your rent now, as well as on an ongoing basis. Above all, keep communication open with your landlord about possible rental relief in the foreseeable future, as well as what your and their responsibilities are about the potential spread of infection. We are seeing across the board that landlords are being flexible in dealing with the current challenges given their own financial commitments.

Emphasise communication

This is an anxious time for everybody, as businesses and employees try and adjust to a "new normal" in a post-coronavirus world. The best way to navigate this is to make sure your lines of communication are open - with your employees, clients, and stakeholders (including your landlord). It's important to think about how and what you will communicate before your employees return to work, so that your messaging is coherent and everyone feels reassured. As part of this, decide on who will communicate what, and who will be responsible for addressing questions and issues with different individuals, whether they're clients, employees, or your landlord.

Assign responsibilities

With the post-coronavirus world, a host of new roles and responsibilities will open up which you will need to designate to certain employees. These include things like "health team captains" who will ensure that hygiene and safety protocols are implemented, PPE training experts who can teach employees how to use safety equipment, a quarantine marshall who will respond to an employee who reports feeling sick, and delivery clerks who will ensure that all items sent for and received from delivery are properly sanitised, as well as recording the movement of these goods.

Is your business returning to work? Here's what you should know

PwC recently released an analysis of what the likely impact of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandamic will be on South Africa's economy. The report looks at various scenarios and assumptions when examining impacts of the pandemic on supply chains, the labour force and various sectors within South Africa's economy. It also looks at policy responses to date, and potential ways of flattening the recession curve and healing the economic "scar tissue". Some of the key points are as follows:

While containment policies (such as the current national lockdown South Africa is in) flatten the medical curve, they steepen the recession/depression curve at the same time.

Three possible outlines for South Africa's economy after the pandemic is contained include:

1) A shock impact on the economy as a whole, followed by swift and complete recovery.
2) A sustained recession where performance and overall growth is affected for at least two full years.
3) A drastic impact on economic performance and a prolonged recession, with a return to previous levels of total output not foreseeable.

The Covid-19 virus introduces a wall between demand and supply. In other words, a contraction in supply leads to a contraction in demand, which leads to a large destruction of the economic surplus.

The report also outlines some key factors that will drive the ability of the economy to recover, including:
<ul>
 	<li>The length of the lockdown</li>
 	<li>The choice of policy interventions</li>
 	<li>The speed of recovery of demand (both local and global)</li>
 	<li>The reaction in supply to the recovery in demand</li>
</ul>
Overall, the report concludes that the ability of the South African economy to withstand this onslaught is worrying, given the already depressed state it started from in January of 2020.

For more detail, <a href="https://data.blackpepperonline.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/PWC-Report.pdf.pdf.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">read the full report from PwC here</a>.

Economic consequences of Covid-19 for South Africa

As the first 21 days of the nationwide shutdown due to Covid-19 crisis draws to the close, the Property Industry Group is in the process of rolling out an industry-wide assistance and relief package for retail tenants hardest hit by South Africa’s lockdown regulations. These include non-essential retailers who are currently not permitted to trade, which affects their ability to generate normal turnover levels and therefore to afford their monthly rental costs.

The relief package, specifically aimed at SMMEs within the retail sector, will aim to provide assistance to retail tenants as well as preserving  jobs for retailers, their suppliers and their service providers. It is currently being rolled out by landlords nationally.

As part of the package, retail landlords will offer rental discounts during April and May. Rental will be waived partially or fully and interest-free rental deferments where the deferred rental will be recovered later over six to nine months from 1 July 2020 onwards.

Landlords will also consider providing relief for office, industrial and hospitality tenants where the lockdown severely impacted the tenant and where it is justified. These tenants will negotiate relief terms directly with their landlords.

This assistance package comes at a massive cost to the property industry, which faces its own dire set of challenges. “But it is necessary for those that need assistance to get it, and for the small retailers that need it the most to get the support they need," says Estienne de Klerk, spokesperson for The Property Industry Group and Chairman of the SA REIT Association. "Now is the time for bigger and stronger companies to step up and form a buffer to protect smaller retailers as a collective so that we can all come out of this stronger."

A key point to note that the package was covered for only the first 21 day lockdown. Now that it has been extended, de Klerk says that it is critical for stimulus packages such as those provided by the Government, banking sector and Solidarity Fund to kick-in to weather this storm.

The Property Industry Group announces retail tenant assistance

Amid the Covid-19 crisis and the nationwide shutdown, many South African businesses may be struggling to pay their rent, since they're not able to run their business as normal and bring in expected revenue levels. So, as a tenant, what rights to you have when it comes to paying rent if you're a "non-essential" operation, such as a sports retailer, a bottle store, or an office offering professional services? And as a landlord, what is the correct course of action to take with these kinds of tenants given the economic challenges of the coronavirus pandemic?

Firstly, it's important to understand a few key legal terms that apply in this situation:

Force majeure

A force majeure clause in a rental agreement can excuse a party from meeting some or all of its obligations as a result of certain defined circumstances. Unlike some other countries where “force majeure” is legislatively defined, the term is foreign to South African common law, even though it's often included as a clause in South African legal agreements. A force majeure clause may allow for a temporary suspension of obligations during the force majeure event, rather than a complete termination of them altogether.

Supervening impossibility 

If there is no force majeure clause, South Africa's common law doctrine of supervening impossibility may apply - that is, the performance by one party is objectively impossible in order for them to uphold the lease agreement as a result of events that cannot be predicted or avoided. So for example, if you're a bottle store, you're currently forbidden by law to sell alcohol during the lockdown, so there is an impossibility to trade due to events out of your control. These events are known as a vis maior (“major force”) or casus fortuitus (“accidental occurrence”).

What supervening impossibility does not cover

It's important to realise that finding an obligation expensive or challenging does not mean that it is objectively impossible, in the eyes of the law. At the same time, absolute factual impossibility also does not apply. That is, performance may still be objectively impossible, but it has become so difficult or burdensome that the party cannot reasonably be expected to perform. For this reason, "performance" in a legal sense may be regarded as impossible while still being factually possible.

In order to determine whether supervening impossibility applies in the case of Covid-19, it's important to look at factors surrounding the particular lease, including the nature of the contract, the relationship of the parties, the circumstances of the case and the nature of the impossibility. In South African legal precedent, the limitations for the standard of impossibility are very stringent, including the fact that the impossibility must not be self-created, and must not be either party's fault.

So what does this mean?

When looking at whether these two legal concepts apply during Covid-19, there's no blanket answer, and the exact specifics of the case need to be examined.

If a court were to uphold a tenant's claim to be excused from paying their lease due to an ability to trade (as with the liquor store example above), then every other South African would be able to claim the same - that is, that they cannot work therefore they are unable to settle car repayments or mortgages. This knock-on effect would then lead to total economic collapse.

Therefore, from a legal standpoint, if there is no force majeure clause present, it can be difficult for a business to claim a supervening impossibility, and therefore they'd still be obliged to pay their rent. The landlord's obligations to settle debt costs with banks, assessment rates, water and electricity still remain.

The takeaway

If you're a tenant struggling to pay your rent during this shutdown since your business can't operate as normal, first check whether your lease agreement includes a force majeure clause that would cover an event such as a global pandemic. If there is no such clause, supervening impossibility may or may not apply depending on your specific circumstances. If you fail to pay your rent and supervening impossibility is found not to apply, you may stand to be in breach of your lease, and you run the risk of being evicted once lockdown ends.

A better solution

A far better approach is to speak to your landlord and try and reach a commercial agreement that benefits both parties. After all, it's in commercial property landlords' best interests to help their tenants, as the success of one is dependent on the other.

So, if you're a tenant running a non-essential business, see whether your landlord would be open to a rebate or remission for part of your rental payment during the national shutdown. Your landlord may apply various conditions to this concession, such as only agreeing to it if you are in good standing, and still holding you liable for things like parking and municipal charges. Even if this is the case, a resulting reduction in rental during these tough times would make such a discussion more than worthwhile.

Covid-19: Can you get rent relief on your commercial property?

In our <a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/posts/property-insights/covid-19-an-opportunity-to-reflect/25241" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">last blog post on the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic is likely to have on businesses</a>, one of the outcomes is that businesses may realise they can operate in a leaner way, with fewer permanent staff in their office. If this is the case with your business, you may be able to downsize to a smaller commercial space and pay less rent, thereby cutting your monthly operational costs in what is already a very stressed economy.

With this in mind, here are 5 things to consider about downsizing your office space:

1. Look at your space planning needs 

Take a hard look at your current head count versus what you think it may be in 6 months' time, a year's time and in three years time - taking into account both growth and decline scenarios. By doing this, you'll have an idea of how much space you'll need going forward, which can inform the downsizing decision you make.

2. What will happen to your existing lease?

If you've signed a commercial lease for several years, you may still be locked into an agreement for your existing office which can make it difficult to move premises in order to downsize. If this is the case, see whether you're legally able to sublet part of your office to another business. If you can, this will allow you to operate in your existing space while collecting rent from the areas you're not using.

3. How will a sublease work?

If you're able to sublet part of your premises, first work out how much space you're willing to give up. How will the logistics work - for example, will you be able to offer joint reception services to the company who is subletting, and have them share costs? Also be mindful of the type of business you sublet to, and make sure they're compatible with yours. If you're an ad agency used to open plan spaces and highly collaborative meetings, make sure that your new tenants fit in with this way of working.

4. Upgrade your furniture

A simple yet effective remedy to operating in a smaller space is to invest in modern office furniture that's much more efficient in terms of fitting people into small spaces. By comparison, older desk set ups take up far more space and only allow one person to sit at them, whereas modern furniture configurations could let you fit two or even three people in the same space previously used by one person.

5. Look at your parking bays

We tend to concentrate on the office space we're occupying, but another potential money saver is to reduce the number of parking bays you require. Perhaps some employees can share a bay if they're coming in on different days, or you could assign two or three floating bays to a group of employees who are able to mostly work from home.

Downsizing your office space is a good way of operating more efficiently by reducing your fixed monthly costs. But before you make the move, work out how much space you will need in the years ahead, and be sure that the new arrangement will help, not hinder, the future growth of your business.

Downsizing office space

With South Africa on full lockdown as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the national plan is to try and contain the spread of the virus as much as possible. Aside from essential services like doctors and food production services staying open, all other businesses need to operate remotely if possible. While this is undoubtedly affecting productivity and a general sense of business confidence, all we can do for now is play our part in "flattening the curve" so that the spread is contained as quickly as possible, and businesses can get back to normal.

With this unexpected slowdown - or pause - in normal business operations, why not see this as an opportunity to reflect on how your business operates, and what your changing office needs may be? When the lockdown ends, you may find that you have new insights into how your employees work, and what your office space needs to provide going forward. Here are five questions to ask yourself:

1. Can you downscale?

You may find that through these forced “work from home” measures, certain employees are more flexible than you previously thought. In fact, you may find that their productivity increases: with less commuting time and the ability to focus in the comfort of their own home, the quality of their output may be better. With this in mind, and with the improvements in distance conferencing tools like Zoom and Google Hangout, you may now realise that you can downscale your office, since you need less space for fewer employees to come into the office on a regular basis.

2. Could you do with “non-permanent” desk space?

Is there an opportunity going forward for rotating who comes into the office and who stays at home - which again means you'd need less office space overall? Perhaps you could implement a policy where certain employees only come into the office for certain days of the week, with others coming in on alternative days. With this structure, you could institute transient desk space where two employees share the same desk over different days.

3. Is there room to permanently improve the hygiene standards you have in your office?

Yes, right now everyone is feverishly hand sanitising and hand washing – but why not keep this going once the threat of the virus has passed? After all, a healthy workforce is a productive one, and the fewer sick employees you have on your hands, the better it is for your bottom line. One example could be installing permanent hand sanitisers in your office entrance or in common areas. You could also implement a more stringent policy where if anyone feels even slightly sick, they are to stay home rather than coming to work and passing germs on to the colleagues around them.

4. How could you diversify your business?

Along with entire economies being affected, certain sectors are also being incredibly hard hit by this pandemic, such as the restaurant and tourism industry. Many innovative restaurants are implementing things like at-home delivery or “kerb pickup” to avoid close contact, while still keeping their doors open. These are examples of diversifying out of necessity, and perhaps there’s room for your business to do the same. And if you were to offer different services, would your office requirements differ? For example, if you decided to expand your design studio, or offer training courses, would you require different kinds of spaces, or could you change the internal layout of your office to meet these new requirements?

5. Could you cut costs by consolidating or moving branches?

In this time of reflection, many businesses are looking at ways to downscale in the future to make themselves leaner and better able to withstand any further storms in future. This could mean consolidating several branches into fewer ones in order to lower overheads and boost profitability.

While we don't know what the future holds, the Covid-19 lockdown is a time of reflection both personally and professionally. While it can be stressful achieving the same productivity levels as you did before, you may find that once you've made a few adaptations, you're able to operate in a smarter, leaner way.

Covid-19: An opportunity to reflect

Within the last month, President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed various Bills into law, two of which will affect the property industry at large. Specifically, these bills cover the ability for deeds to be processed electronically, and improves the ease of business in the real estate industry. Here’s more detail on each of them.

Electronic Deeds Registration System Act

The <a href="https://www.gov.za/documents/electronic-deeds-registration-systems-act-19-2019-3-oct-2019-0000" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Electronic Deeds Registration System Act</a> will help facilitate the development of an Electronic Deeds Registration System, known as e-DRS. The eDRS system will allow for deeds and documents to be electronically processed, prepared and lodged by conveyancers and the Deeds Registrar. In this way, the system will help reduce the time needed to process deeds, and to provide registered deeds and documents to the public.

Other benefits will include:
<ul>
 	<li>It will allow large volumes of deeds to be registered more effectively</li>
 	<li>It will improve processing times for customers to receive registered deeds and documents</li>
 	<li>It will allow countrywide access to deeds registration services, meaning people outside of the large cities can access these services</li>
 	<li>It will improve the transparency and accuracy of deeds examinations and registration</li>
 	<li>It will improve the availability of information to the public regarding deeds matters</li>
 	<li>It will offer enhanced security of title deeds, and the acquisition and disposal of fixed assets</li>
</ul>
Given huge advances in things like electronic communications, access to internet and e-commerce, it makes sense to implement a system that will take advantage of the inherent benefits of these advances.

Property Practitioners Act

The property market in the country should also benefit from the new <a href="https://www.gov.za/documents/property-practitioners-act-22-2019-3-oct-2019-0000" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Property Practitioners Act of 2019</a> which replaces the 43-year-old Estate Agency Affairs Act of 1976 (Act 112 of 1976). Overall, the bill aims speed up the transformation of the property market – specifically including regulating the buying, selling and renting of land and buildings. <a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/posts/property-insights/property-practitioners-bill-signed-into-law-now-what/25224" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Read more about our take on the act here</a>.

Two new bills to impact the property industry

Located with easy access to both the Pretoria and Johannesburg CBDs, and with easy access to both OR Tambo and Lanseria Airports, Centurion offers a wide range of office and industrial property - from P-Grade right down to C-Grade assets.

When it comes to size, Centurion offers a huge variety of options depending on individual individual needs - from vast distribution facilities right down to mini office units for small businesses. Due to the huge availability of development land in the area, Centurion can also accommodate greenfield projects of any size.

If you're looking for premium industrial property or office space in Centurion, notable locations can be broken down into the following areas:

Centurion CBD:
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/office/centurion-cbd/westend-office-park-office-property-to-let-in-centurion-cbd/1e84dfa9-9bcb-48a0-ab43-ef00af8c6fa3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Westend Office Park</a>
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/office/centurion/riverside-office-park-office-property-to-let-in-centurion/0dd89a74-0668-4c77-986b-6259ccac7d68" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Riverside Office Park</a>

Centurion:
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/office/centurion/byls-bridge-office-property-to-let-in-centurion/e9b83ca8-a5bf-4b33-8ad5-fefef79415ed" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Byls Bridge</a>
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/office/centurion/corporate-park-66-office-property-to-let-in-centurion/83a5ed0d-2f82-4e09-920f-14cc280da432" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Corporate Park 66</a>

Doringkloof:
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/office/doringkloof/irene-link-office-property-to-let-in-doringkloof/337f800e-23c4-4697-9b98-419718f644fd" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Irene Link</a>
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/office/highveld-techno-park/eco-court-office-property-to-let-in-highveld-techno-park/8495d1be-7fec-4606-913c-b1d9236a4bba" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Highveld Techno (Eco Estates)</a>

Southdowns Irene:
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/office/southdowns-irene-country-farm/southdowns-office-park-office-property-to-let-in-southdowns-irene-country-farm/b5a20a86-340c-40d5-8d00-fbc613330c39" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Southdowns Office Park</a>
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/office/southdowns-irene-country-farm/southdowns-ridge-office-property-to-let-in-southdowns-irene-country-farm/4b06bc87-1fd6-40ee-9e6b-5c30ef4bf6d3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Southdowns Ridge</a>

Samrand:
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/industrial/samrand/samrand-circle-industrial-property-to-let-in-samrand/8af8d2e1-cf4c-4112-8a18-e0297a4bbab1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Samrand Circle</a>
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/industrial/samrand/sterling-park-industrial-property-to-let-in-samrand/45097672-e0b1-47d6-8c90-e6b6c464c3eb" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sterling Industrial Park</a>

Louwlardia:
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/industrial/louwlardia/old-mint-park-industrial-property-to-let-in-louwlardia/c20935df-3974-4a1e-b81d-7ef81a4e26a9" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Old Mint</a>
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/industrial/louwlardia/n1-business-park-industrial-property-to-let-in-louwlardia/e47ab8bb-22fb-4d3a-bc5c-0a381c1ced42" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">N1 Business Park</a>

Interested in buying or leasing industrial property in the Centurion area? Contact Simon on 083 261 2861 or on simon@blackpepperonline.co.za.

Node Review: Centurion

In early October this year, South Africa’s Property Practitioners Bill was signed into law by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. This law impacts the property industry – but how does it do so, and what does this it for professional practitioners in the industry?

What does the bill do?

The recently approved Bill – which has been heavily debated and anticipated – replaces the Estate Agency Affairs Act of 1976. Presidential spokesperson Khusela Diko says that the new Bill is designed to help speed up the transformation of the property market. “The Bill is aimed at improving the functioning of the property market, which includes regulating the buying, selling and renting of land and buildings,” said Diko.

Among other things, changes that the Bill will bring include replacing the Estate Agency Affairs Board with the new Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority. It’s also intended to put into place better monitoring mechanisms, such as requiring inspectors to obtain warrants to enter premises. And, according to South African Housing and Infrastructure Fund (SAHIF) chief executive Rali Mampeule, the Bill aims to ensure more seamless processes and professional standards in the real estate industry.

What are the concerns about it?

Several industry players, including Real Estate Business Owners of South Africa (Rebosa), have raised concerns about the Bill. One of these is that it does not address specifics about how transformation will be achieved. “Real transformation challenges have not been addressed and the Bill creates as many challenges as it was supposed to address,” says Jan le Roux, chief executive of Rebosa. “Unfortunately, contrary to the department’s belief, the acknowledged problems and inconsistencies in the Bill cannot be addressed by regulations alone.”

Jeanne-Maré Oosthuizen, General Manager for the Rawson Property Group, says that the application and implementation of parts of the new legislation will be impractical, and near impossible in some cases. “There could also be a very real constitutional challenge, if the regulations do not clarify the interpretation of some parts of the Act,” she says.

Simon Black, founder of Black Pepper Properties, says any initiatives to increase compliance and improve overall industry standards would be welcomed. “Hopefully the proposed ‘Board of Authority’ will quickly get to grips with industry challenges, and ultimately make it easier to successfully operate within the various South African real estate sectors,” he says.

So, what’s next?

Nothing concrete can happen until the Bill is enacted after formal declaration by the Government Gazette. Before this can be done, new regulations still need to be prepared, which have not yet been done. Currently, there are no draft regulations published for the Act, and so for now, it’s not likely that the law will come into effect during 2019. This time lapse should, hopefully, provide enough time to resolve major industry concerns about it.

Property Practitioners Bill signed into law – now what?

SAPOA’s latest report from September 2019 reports that, as at Q3 2019, the national office office vacancy rate in South Africa was recorded at 11.0% - a 30bp improvement compared with Q2. This improvement did, however, come at the cost of rental growth, as asking rental growth nationally declined by 1% year on year.

During the same period, 200 square kilometres of rentable area was taken up within South Africa, while 148k sqm of stock was added. The net result of this was a positive net absorption of approximately 52km sqm.

Since March 2011, SAPOA found that the total office vacancy rate (including unlet new developments) has not shifted substantially. Rather, it is trending sideways. To get down to a 5% vacancy rate will require at least 75 000 office-based new jobs – an increase of around 6.7%. This is ambitious given the currently fairly pessimistic economic growth forecasts on a broader scale.

<img class="alignnone wp-image-25219 size-full" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/black-pepper/image/upload/v1571681317/Sapoa-Sept-1_zpular.png" alt="" width="806" height="424" />

Generally speaking, the current status of muted employment growth and low overall economy growth dampens the sector’s hopes of a short-term recovery. The current vacancy cycle is very different to the previous two in that the recovery phase is significantly more drawn out.

South Africa’s uncertainty around its credit rating, as well as the future of Eskom, means that many property occupiers are adopting a “wait and see” approach. Simon Black, founder of Black Pepper Properties, agrees, and says that the way forward is through serious structural changes to stimulate our ailing economy. "ESKOM presents the major risk to our credit sovereignty and Government needs to issue concrete reforms to ease concerns and roadmap the way forward," he says.

Since 2015, the development of new office space has been slowing down, with the demand for space growing at a slower rate. At the end of Q3, developments under construction across the country totalled only 378 sqm – the lowest levels seen since Q4 of 2005.

During Q3 ending in September 2019, vacancy rates softened in the Prime &amp; C-grade segments but improved in the A &amp; B-grade segments.

Given the current economic headwinds and structural growth constraints that are present in the sector, SAPOA states that it is hard to imagine a national office vacancy rate returning to mid-single digits within the next 3 years.

<img class="alignnone wp-image-25220 size-full" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/black-pepper/image/upload/v1571681316/Sapoa-Sept-2_h8d7yc.png" alt="" width="939" height="495" />

Historically, 3,5% was the minimum requirement for driving employment growth, and therefore the demand for office space. However, at this point, GDP forecasts are not in this range. Therefore, SAPOA considers a national office vacancy rate in the neighbourhood of 10% as being the “new normal” for the foreseeable future. Whether or not this improves in Q4 remains to be seen.

"Ongoing tax revenue shortfalls over the past five years would indicate that increasing tax revenues have reached a logical ceiling," says Black. "A combination of strong leadership - along with difficult decisions - are required to right South Africa Inc.'s ship.

SAPOA Update - September 2019

SAPOA’s <a href="https://www.sapoa.org.za/media/5206/ovs-q2-july-2019.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Q2 report from July 2019</a> confirmed an overall weakening of the commercial property vacancy rates, reinforcing the “sideways drift” that’s been in place for several years. While the report found several nodes reporting improved occupancy, this was offset by a weakening in other sectors of the market.

By the end of the second quarter of 2019, the national office vacancy rate in South Africa was recorded at 11.3% - a 30bp weakening compared with the previous quarter. At the same time, the asking rental growth improved slightly to 2.8% year on year – although it’s worth noting that rental growth tends to lag movements in occupancy rate.

<img class="alignnone wp-image-25201 size-large" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/black-pepper/image/upload/h_344,w_640/v1570539425/Graph1_bphbjx.png" alt="" width="640" height="344" />

External factors dampening the sector’s hopes of a recovery including muted employment growth, along with a negative business confidence within the country. As a result of these factors, the current vacancy cycle is very different to the previous two quarters, in that the recovery phase is much longer.

Within the different segments of the market, vacancy rates softened within the B and C-Grade segments but improved within the P-Grade and A-Grade segments.

<img class="alignnone wp-image-25202 size-large" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/black-pepper/image/upload/h_324,w_640/v1570539420/Graph2_cdn9wz.png" alt="" width="640" height="324" />

Looking at the five largest metropolitan areas within the country, The City of Cape Town still has the lowest overall office vacancy rate at 7.6%, following a 10bp improvement from the last quarter. The highest overall vacancy rate among these five metros was for eThekwini municipality, which recorded a 13.5% vacancy rate. Johannesburg narrowly followed this, with 12.9%.

<img class="alignnone wp-image-25203 size-large" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/black-pepper/image/upload/h_333,w_640/v1570539415/Graph3_l5oaac.png" alt="" width="640" height="333" />

Within Johannesburg, Sandton’s increasing (and high) vacancy rate is a concern on the broader context of Johannesburg: as of Q2, 9 out of every 100 buildings were completely empty. Development in the node has outstripped demand over the last few years, which has been dominated by large, single tenanted buildings that have seen occupiers consolidate real estate operations in a quest for greater efficiently. This has often lead to multiple, older buildings remaining vacant for an extended period, as landlords seek to mitigate the backfill risk. However, in a challenging operating environment, this is easier said than done: the amount of available space in Sandton has steadily increased to an all-time high of 341k sqm.

The report found that while the overall development has been slowing, the pre-let rate of current developments remained below 50% during Q2. Because of the slowing in development activity, continued weakness in the pre-let rate will weigh in on asking rental growth.

In terms of available space, development activity has slowed to 2005 levels, and is mirroring the previous top of the vacancy cycle in around 2003. Given the current vacancy rate of 11.3%, this slowdown can be seen as a positive occurrence.

During Q2, there was 20sqm of office space under development for every 100sqm of vacant space. In contrast, during March 2008, there was 120sqm of space under development for every 100sqm already available.

In summary, there is little to suggest an immediate turnaround in the industry, especially given the recent increase in vacancy rate. The longer that the recovery draws out, the longer it will take for occupancy rates to get back to equilibrium. In fact, SAPOA estimates that it is unlikely that the national office vacancy rate will return to mid-single digits within the next three years.

<img class="alignnone wp-image-25204 size-large" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/black-pepper/image/upload/h_328,w_640/v1570539411/Graph4_tgj3qi.png" alt="" width="640" height="328" />

That said, if business optimism and foreign direct investment improves amid a slowly changing political landscape, this could be a catalyst that unlocks capital investment. This, in turn, will help to drive employment growth which would then positively affect the demand for office space.

SAPOA Update: Q2, 2019

In 2019, any commercial real estate agency needs a strong web presence in order to operate competitively. Especially in South Africa, continued financial pressures and a struggling economy mean that things are more competitive than ever, and commercial brokers need to fight harder than ever for the few leads that are available.

With this in mind, we took the decision several years ago to revamp our website so that it became a highly streamlined, efficient sales machine – one that was capable not only of advertising stock to potential customers, but also one that would serve as an effective stock aggregator for landlords and tenants. This is a complicated process, because commercial real estate requires large volumes of data to flow between the landlords, their content management systems and client-facing websites.

The average go-to web development language for most web developers is PHP: it’s easy to use, has lots of well-documented examples, and is the language that powers WordPress, which makes it the comfortable choice for most web developers. However, PHP also has its limitations when it comes to data processing speed and flexibility – two crucial factors for the commercial property sector.

With this in mind, at Black Pepper we chose to differentiate ourselves with the help of <a href="https://www.d9cre.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">D9CRE</a>, a Joburg-based web development company that provides websites and APIs to interface with the Gmaven system. Gmaven is a revolutionary cloud-based stock management system designed specifically for the commercial property sector. Using this tool, D9CRE builds progressive web applications that are designed to handle the complexities and large volumes of data by using the best web technology possible.

What differentiates D9CRE from other competitors is that they have built their system from the ground up – from their own API that handles the data feed between Gmaven and the database, to the beautiful front ends (i.e. websites) that clients use to interact with the data. Best of all, their system is specifically built for commercial real estate, which makes it the opposite to an off-the-shelf product that has been simply adapted to work for the commercial real estate industry.

“Our clients benefit from using the best commercial real estate software, and whilst doing so, they are able to seamlessly populate and update their client facing websites without having to ever manually update website data,” says D9CRE owner Dave Lynch. “In this way, all the complexity that are usually stumbling blocks within the industry are removed.”

According to Lynch, their clients within the commercial property sector enjoy several major benefits, including:

• No version control issues, since the stock is updated in real time (via Gmaven)
• One source of information: there is no longer conflict between the information being provided by the landlord, and the information being advertised by a commercial broker on their site
• Greater site speed, through cloud-based databases and GraphQL
• Granular search functionality that allows the user to search on a huge range of criteria including (but not limited to) suburb, street, developer, property size - all down to unit level
• A progressive front-end website that fits perfectly into mobile-enabled, tech forward 2019
• Search engine optimisation (SEO) that is “baked in” to the design and structure of the site
• A completely customisable design that fits in with the client’s particular brand look and feel

While implementing our new system required us to invest some significant capital upfront, the ease with which we are now able to run our business so that we can spend our time converting leads has more than made up for this. In short, having a website that plugs directly into the market has created a fully integrated interface for both our clients and suppliers. It’s allowed us to create an entirely new way of doing business – one that is highly efficient and adaptable, which is hugely important for us given our increasingly competitive market environment.

A new generation web presence

As mentioned in a <a href="https://data.blackpepperonline.co.za/the-advantage-of-being-a-rics-member/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">previous post</a>, RICS – the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors – is a global professional body promoting international standards in the valuation, management and development of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure.

Each quarter, RICS releases a Global Commercial Property Monitor as a guide to the major trends in the commercial property investment and occupier markets, based on a survey they conduct among RICS members.

RICS’ most recent Global Commercial Property Monitor for Q2 reports that despite general economic challenges, the real estate sentiment remains fairly resilient across the globe. At the same time, there are some areas of concern, including the ongoing trade dispute between the US and China, and the slower economic momentum in Europe.

RICS takes an optimistic view, though, that these challenges are mostly temporary and shouldn’t affect medium term expectations.

Within the report, the four key trends identified over Q2 were as follows:

1. The US-China trade dispute sees a modest shift in mood

In China, demand for commercial space seems to be flatlining, while availability has been creeping up. Around two-thirds of survey respondents perceived the market to be in a downturn, but they also expect there to be a “soft landing” at the end. This may, in part, reflect a sentiment that the Chinese government will take further action to support growth building on the recent announcement of measures to support infrastructure investment through the proceeds of special bond issuance. It may also be a response to the attempt to deescalate trade tensions at the G20 summit.

2. Key Euro markets are positive, although less so

The feedback for key European markets remains generally positive, but this upbeat sentiment has been easing in recent quarters. Things are seen to be slightly worse in the UK and Switzerland, as is a reflection of specific issues within those countries. On the other hand, some of the smaller European markets such as Hungary, Portugal, Czech Republic and Greece, are being viewed more positively than the larger ones.

3. The Americas are modestly positive while the Middle East struggles

The report found that not much changed in the Americas during Q2 of 2019, and that the relatively solid macro picture in the US continues to support an occupier market. In Canada, real estate sentiment remains positive, while statistics in Brazil point to a stable trend after the uplift that followed the presidential election. In contrast, the feedback from most Middle East markets covered in the surveys remains downbeat to some degree.

4. A weaker retail trend remains the dominant sector theme

When it comes to sectoral trends, the report found that the impact of the shift in household behaviour is stark, and that the commercial market within the retail sector is heavily downturned. Outliers to this trend include Japan, India and some of the smaller European markets. While occupier demand to absorb retail space remains solid in both Japan and India supporting rental expectations, in Japan it is notable that the RICS investment enquiries indicator has been broadly trending sideways for the last year and a half.

While there are certainly global issues of concern, in general there remain pockets of cautious optimism despite uncertainty for the future.

For more detailed analysis, <a href="https://www.rics.org/globalassets/rics-website/media/knowledge/research/market-surveys/global-commercial-property-monitor-q2-2019-rics.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">download the full RICS Q2 report here</a>.

RICS Market Update – Q2 2019

A commercial property lease may sound simple in that it’s an agreement between a business – the tenant – and a landlord, but unfortunately it's not often that the interests of these two parties are aligned.

Besides knowing how to negotiate a commercial property lease so that you as the tenant are paying fair market price for what you’re getting, there are also some key legal aspects you should bear in mind to protect you both financially and commercially. Here are five common legal issues you should consider:

1. What rights do you have when it comes to occupation?

Are the premises you want to rent ready to move into straight away, or will your landlord need to complete a reinstatement or further construction / improvements before this can happen? If it’s part of your lease agreement that the landlord needs to make changes to the premises before you move in, make sure that the exact nature of the changes they’re responsible for is clearly laid out in the lease. The lease should also clearly lay out the timeframes for works completion / building compliance – and if there is a delay past a certain point, you as the tenant should have a right to walk away. Also think about this in terms of the lease’s beneficial occupation date vs. lease commencement date: if there are things the landlord and/or the tenant need to do to the premises prior to commencement of formal operations, an agreeable beneficial period should occur prior to the formal lease commencement date.

2. Who is responsible for paying municipal bills?

Make sure that you understand whether you as the tenant or your landlord is responsible for paying the rates, electricity and water bills for your premises. If you arrange that you as the tenant pay your share of rates to the landlord, include a clause that allows you to ask your landlord for proof of payment to the council for the portion of the bill you’re responsible for. To prevent services from being cut off, consider also adding in a clause that allows you to pay the municipality directly if the landlord misses their payments. On the other hand, if you fail to pay your portion of rates in a particular month, try and negotiate that services are only cut off after you have received written notice from your landlord, and then haven’t paid the outstanding amount for 60 or 90 days, as an example.

3. Can you sublet the premises?

If you may want to sublet a portion of your commercial premises in future, make sure that your lease agreement allows for this – and whether the landlord needs to agree to the particular subletting tenant in question. Also consider what will happen if you sell your business: the new buyer may expect to take over the lease you’re your premises, so make sure that the lease addresses this issue as well.

4. What if there is damage to the property?

In cases of destruction to premises as a result of things like earthquakes, floods or fire, the landlord is usually favoured in a typical lease, and normally they can choose whether or not to cancel the lease or continue with it and repair the premises. But what would this mean for your business? You may want to agree that the lease can only be cancelled if the premises are rendered uninhabitable as a result of the damage, and that if the damage is repairable, you give the landlord an opportunity to do repairs within a certain timeframe. You as the tenant should not have to pay for these repairs (unless your negligence was the cause of the damage).

5. Is the landlord’s liability limited?

It’s a surprisingly common feature in commercial leases that the landlord is not liable for their tenant’s loss or damage on the premises – even if that loss or damage was caused by the landlord themselves. Be aware of this, and don’t accept clauses that exclude the landlord’s liability in the case where they were at fault. In the same way, if the landlord suffers damage or loss to the premises that were not your fault, you as the tenant should not have to pay for the damage.

6. What about fixtures, fittings and improvements?

Within the normal course of your lease period, you may want to install certain fixtures or fittings, or make improvements to the premises that you are renting. In most commercial lease agreements, you’ll need to get your landlord’s consent to make these changes – even if they’re improvements. If you know before you sign the lease what changes you want to make, you could simplify this approval process by listing them in a schedule as an addendum to the lease. And then after the lease expires, what will the process be for these changes be? Will you need to restore the premises to their original condition, or will you be obliged to leave the added fixtures and fittings for the landlord without being paid for them? While the end of the lease term may seem far away, it’s important to consider now what will happen at that point in the future so that you’re not caught out of pocket.

Signing a lease for commercial premises can be intimidating – especially when dealing with legal jargon and comprehensive clauses that you may not understand in their entirety. In all cases, make sure you get legal assistance when entering into a lease with a landlord; never try to sign one without formal input. Be comfortable with the contents of your lease as this will allow you to be clear about what you’re willing to compromise on, and where you’re not willing to budge, where you’ll be more likely to enter into an agreement that meets your business objectives.

Signing a commercial lease? Here are 5 legal considerations.

Gosforth Park is an industrial precinct positioned at an extremely strategic transport confluence, linking Gauteng to the rest of the province, country and continent by road, rail and air. As well as its excellent access from the N3 highway, it also is easily accessible from the N12, N17 and even the M2 highways in Gauteng.

As well as being in a dominant position in the area, Gosforth Park is also near to the City Deep inland port. As a whole, the precinct supports its tenants with high-spec infrastructure as well as a comprehensive framework of services and other quality features.

If you're looking for premium industrial property in Gosforth Park, the area offers space starting from 1000 sqm up to 70 000 sqm. Notable locations within the precinct include:

<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/industrial/gosforth-park/raceway-industrial-park-industrial-property-to-let-in-gosforth-park/4a93d8a5-cc89-4137-adde-d1c7396d29a8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Raceway Industrial Park</a>
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/industrial/roxton/union-park-industrial-property-to-let-in-roxton/7eebe3f2-75ee-4d9b-826d-ec5b65460cee" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Union Park</a>
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/industrial/rand-airport/dakota-precinct-industrial-property-to-let-in-rand-airport/35779f68-bf0d-4ea9-ac4d-c3e5c4c7f1cc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dakota Precinct</a>
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/industrial/gosforth-park/gosforth-business-park-industrial-property-to-let-in-gosforth-park/9f9abbcb-a9b3-47db-9dbd-b7da527c993f" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gosforth Business Park</a>
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/industrial/gosforth-park/randport-industrial-industrial-property-to-let-in-gosforth-park/4e1344c5-cdbc-45db-87a8-86df55e016aa" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Randport Industrial</a>
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/industrial/gosforth-park/grand-prix-park-industrial-property-to-let-in-gosforth-park/06b13d64-4127-4482-8ce8-ca3737958c34" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Grand Prix Park</a>
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/industrial/germiston/sandj-industrial-park-industrial-property-to-let-in-germiston/2c6bb9eb-829d-4982-8581-c8b1b136819c" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">S&amp;J Industrial</a>

Interested in buying or leasing industrial property in the Gosforth Park area? Contact Simon on 083 261 2861 or on simon@blackpepperonline.co.za.

Gosforth Park

Within the economic hub of Gauteng lies Waterfall, the province's latest - and largest - urban development concept. Stretching from Modderfontein east of the N1 to beyond Kyalami in the west, Waterfall offers everything from hospitals and shops to housing developments, industrial developments and office blocks containing an impressive range of blue-chip companies. Overall, Waterfall aims to be the ultimate work-life destination, where residents can get everything they need in one destination.

Waterfall's CBD is Waterfall City, located at the Allandale Road exit. This is Johannesburg's latest commercial hub, which also contains the Mall of Africa, the continent's largest single phase mall with more than 131,000m² of retail space.

Throughout the Waterfall Precinct, the emphasis is on state-of-the-art spacial design set amid beautifully green surroundings, including running lanes and a luscious green park.

When it comes to Waterfall office space, Waterfall City offers the following P-Grade office options including:

<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/office/waterfall-business-park/gateway-west-office-property-to-let-in-waterfall-business-park/cb495024-3385-4827-85cc-f9f62a5adabf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gateway West Office Park</a>
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/office/waterfall-business-park/the-ingress-office-property-to-let-in-waterfall-business-park/0eb6a90f-4182-45e8-951b-be48e2cb04db" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Ingress</a>
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/office/waterval-gp/waterfall-point-office-property-to-let-in-waterval-gp/cb1cbb02-bf2d-459d-b6d2-30473a15d38c" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Waterfall Point</a>
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/office/waterval-gp/hertford-office-park-office-property-to-let-in-waterval-gp/86dc27ec-cf3b-4189-a1ca-93cde54c59c2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hertford Office Park</a>
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/office/waterfall-business-park/corporate-campus-office-property-to-let-in-waterfall-business-park/2c47edc0-fa6d-466e-a384-9a3c37c1f89d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Waterfall Corporate Campus</a>
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/office/waterfall-business-park/ext-124-offices-office-property-to-let-in-waterfall-business-park/d4cf07c6-c9a9-4880-9335-cff97902fb9a" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ext 124 Offices</a>

Industrial space is also plentiful, and some noteworthy industrial options include:

<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/industrial/waterfall-business-park/waterfall-compact-units-lp-8-industrial-property-to-let-in-waterfall-business-park/a2d4d838-e854-450a-b98e-4b8937bb96b8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Waterfall Compact Units</a>
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/industrial/waterfall-business-park/waterfall-logistics-precinct-south-lp-9-s-industrial-property-to-let-in-waterfall-business-park/fc80922c-2854-40e8-8213-8600630bbd3b" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Waterfall Logistics Precinct</a>
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/industrial/waterval-gp/waterfall-distribution-campus-industrial-property-to-let-in-waterval-gp/2405dc07-9fac-4a15-8892-c8e44d727d7e" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Waterfall Distribution Campus</a>

Interested in securing office or industrial space within the Waterfall Precinct? Contact Simon on 083 261 2861 or on <a href="mailto:simon@blackpepperonline.co.za">simon@blackpepperonline.co.za</a>.

Waterfall Precinct

It's official: office rental prices in Rosebank have now overtaken Sandton - which is a big sign that the suburb is an extremely desirable location when it comes to commercial premises in Johannesburg.

Rosebank is as centrally located in Johannesburg as Sandton is, but it's less congested in terms of getting in and out of, particularly during peak hours. In terms of major arterial roads, Rosebank is close to Jan Smuts Avenue as well as Glenhove Road, which gives easy access to the M1.

Because Rosebank is a much smaller area than Sandton, it's more pedestrian-friendly, and access on foot is much easier. Like Sandton, Rosebank also offers a host of premium shops and restaurants on your doorstep - and it's close to several highly desirable residential neighbourhoods such as the Parks, Saxonwold, Dunkeld and Illovo.

There's currently plenty of new Rosebank office space available. Some notable locations include:

<a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="144 Oxford (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/office/rosebank-gp/144-oxford-road-office-property-to-let-in-rosebank-gp/546c206c-4f42-4a2f-a0fa-07e293ae49cd" target="_blank">144 Oxford Road</a>

<a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Oxford Parks (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/office/rosebank-gp/8-parks-boulevard-office-property-to-let-in-rosebank-gp/0f948f67-d931-4b4c-b9e9-67ba396e74da" target="_blank">Oxford Parks</a>

<a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Oxford and Glenhove (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/office/melrose-estate/oxford-and-glenhove-office-property-to-let-in-melrose-estate/80b9b6d6-0415-47e8-af68-774cb6d61f18" target="_blank">Oxford and Glenhove</a>

Looking for Rosebank office space for your company? Contact Simon on <a href="mailto:simon@blackpepperonline.co.za">simon@blackpepperonline.co.za</a>.

Rosebank Office Space

Sandton is arguably the best known commercial property precinct in South Africa - with good reason. Situated in good proximity to the northern suburbs, it's highly accessible via the M1 as well as several major arterial roads such as William Nicol and Grayston Drive. It's close to major transport nodes like the Gautrain, and it offers easy access to shops, restaurants and schools.

With its high rise skyline, it's an iconic and prestigious suburb for P-grade and A-grade offices within modern, eco-friendly, efficient buildings.

In recent months, Sandton’s office vacancies have ticked up considerably due to the depressed market conditions, new developments and a glut of B grade office space. New buildings are being occupied at discounted rentals, which incentivises potential tenants, and B-grade buildings simply can't compete. Corporates are also becoming increasingly aware of their carbon footprints, and don't want to be in old, inefficient buildings.

The ability to find a great deal on office space in Sandton because of this has only served to broaden its appeal. Here, we showcase some of the best options available when it comes to Sandton office space:

<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/office/sandton/the-marc-office-property-to-let-in-sandton/e643ffa8-00ec-4cb5-adbf-092602033377" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Marc</a>
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/office/sandton/alice-lane-office-property-to-let-in-sandton/b3ea9f89-6511-4c16-9096-b3777485e2d3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Alice Lane</a>
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/office/sandton/2-pybus-road-office-property-to-let-in-sandton/eb0b4430-c007-4499-9f49-33bd4ab625ca" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2 Pybus Road</a>
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/office/sandton/155-west-street-office-property-to-let-in-sandton/5e96f7e7-a6d0-4a06-b1cf-0d8e53cca5cc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">155 West</a>
<a href="https://www.wework.com/en-ZA/buildings/155-west-st--johannesburg--GP" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WeWork about to launch</a>
<a href="https://www.blackpepperonline.co.za/properties/property/to-let/office/glenadrienne/sandton-gate-office-property-to-let-in-glenadrienne/30441e13-3737-4895-844f-1446a8f9cf1b" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sandton Gate</a>

Looking for Sandton office space for your company? Contact Simon on <a href="mailto:simon@blackpepperonline.co.za">simon@blackpepperonline.co.za</a>.

Sandton Office Space

RICS – the Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors – is an internationally recognised, global professional body that promotes and enforces the highest international standards in the valuation, management and development of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure.

So, what are the advantages of being part of this global body?
<ul>
 	<li>Develop your expertise and increase your earning potential. RICS members get full access to a set professional standards, ethical guidance, sector-specific advice and regulatory help. In other words, when you’re a RICS member, you’re more employable as your work is seen to be ethical and of a higher standard.</li>
 	<li>Build a global professional network. Because RICS has a global presence, being a member allows you to connect with other professionals and leading figures in your industry around the world through networking events, webinars and social media channels.</li>
 	<li>Enhance your skills and employability. RICS offers an annual range of over 800
courses, conferences and events, that allow you to develop your skills and learn new globally recognised skills and specialties.</li>
 	<li>Make an impact on the world. RICS has regular market surveys and industry-leading consultations with its members on topics such as the futures of the surveying profession, and fighting money laundering, which means you can have your say in your industry’s future.</li>
 	<li>Demonstrate higher professional and ethical standards. As a RICS member, you have to agree to adhere to RICS’ set of extremely high professional and ethical standards. This means that you can build a valued business with client relationships built on trust, honesty and integrity.</li>
 	<li>Broaden your horizons. As part of such a large professional body, you’ll get access
to the latest thinking, expert advice and in-depth features across all surveying disciplines from RICS’ sector-specific journals, flagship Modus magazine and regular email newsletters.</li>
</ul>
While becoming a RICS member is an investment of time and energy, the results can be well worth it in terms of enhancing your professional network, your reputation within the industry, and your global presence.

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