Popular shopping mall built over a main road in South Africa being sold
The Competition Commission has approved the proposed sale of The Bridge Shopping Centre in Gqeberha to Capelink Investments.
The shopping mall is a popular destination in the metro, annexed to the 50,000-square-metre Greenacres Shopping Centre in the same area.
The Bridge gets its name from its unique layout, built over CJ Langenhoven Drive below.
The commission has approved the proposed transaction where Capelink Investments intends to acquire the mall, without conditions.
Capelink Investments is wholly owned by Mantz Holdings Proprietary Limited, which is active in property investment and property leasing.
Relevant to the merger, the group owns two retail properties close by—the Dischem Building, about 1.4 kilometres away from The Bridge, and the Kwanobuhle Shopping Centre, about 27km away.
The commission said that the proposed transaction is unlikely to substantially lessen or prevent competition in any relevant market, nor does not raise significant public interest concerns.
The mall is being acquired from a group of investment funds, including Acucap Investments, the Phumula Retirement Fund, and the Municipal Employees Pension Fund.
The mall itself is classified as a minor regional centre. However, it is attached to the much larger Greenacres Shopping Centre, which is currently owned by Growthpoint Properties.
Greenacres was established in 1981, built on the former Fairview Racecourse.
Over the years of development, it was eventually joined by The Bridge and two other major retailers to create an over 90,000-square-metre retail node, all owned by separate groups.
Greenacres underwent a R400-million-plus redevelopment around 2016 and has grown to over 58,000 square metres.
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