Gensec plans to expand its African businesses
March 17, 2006
By Roy Cokayne
Pretoria - Gensec, the property services company, has launched a major initiative to expand its business in Africa.
Marna van der Walt, Gensec's chief executive, said yesterday that Gensec already had an office in Namibia, but was in the process of opening offices in Nigeria, Zambia and Ghana.
Gensec was investigating opportunities in Kenya, Botswana and Saudi Arabia.
Van der Walt said Gensec would be investing in excess of R1 million in the next 12 months in expanding into Africa but believed the payback on its investment would be in a similar period.
"Luckily it's not expensive to expand our property management services in Africa. Our vision is that within five years our profit from operations in Africa will be on a par with our profit from the South African operations."
Van der Walt declined to quantify Gensec's profits locally.
The firm last year managed a property portfolio valued at about R13 billion on behalf of its predominantly South African clients.
Gensec's Namibian operation constituted about 10 percent of the company's business and the expansion into Zambia and Ghana would add another about 10 percent to the business.
"If our plans in Nigeria are realised, it will constitute between 15 percent and 20 percent of our current business."
In Zambia, Gensec is in the process of purchasing a 50 percent share in property services company Minerva.
Van der Walt said the transaction was subject to exchange control approval and the finalisation of its due diligence.
From April this year the name of the company would be changed to Gensec Zambia, which would specialise in property management, retail management and project management.
The value of Minerva's existing property and project management contracts would be disclosed once the transaction was finalised.
"Gensec Zambia is considered a key enabler to obtaining further contracts in Africa as it has entered into relationships with … local business partners and the country forms a geographical platform into at least eight neighbouring African states," she said.
Gensec was also awaiting exchange control approval for the purchase of a 50 percent stake in the newly formed Gensec Ghana.
The main focus of Gensec's African business would be similar to its existing core business in South Africa, involving property and facilities management.
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