Business

Shopping mall in one of South Africa’s worst-run municipalities is being sold

Caitlyn Hilliard-Lomas

 ·21 Sep 2026

The sale of Bloemfontein’s Northridge Mall to Cape Town 101 Investments has been approved by the Competition Commission.

Northridge Mall is located in the suburb of Bayswater in the northern parts of Bloemfontein, along the R700 on Kenneth Kuanda Road and currently spans 29,510 square metres.

It is located in an area that connects the northern suburbs and the city to the N1 freeway.

Cape Town 101 Investments, the acquiring firm, is a property investment firm that provides retail space for rent in the Free State.

Northridge Mall was expanded and renovated by the Moolman Group and PHG Group in April 2019.

On its website, Moolman Group said it partnered with PHG to bring residents of Northern Bloemfontein an extended and varied retail experience.

“This is a polished neighbourhood centre with a comprehensive convenience offering of all the favourites,” it said.

The mall has 86 stores in total, including well-known outlets such as Pick n Pay, Woolworths, Dis-Chem, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Clicks, Yuppie Chef, Le Creuset, and a free-standing Virgin Active.

Northridge Mall also offers a variety of popular restaurants, including Wimpy, Mugg & Bean, Panarotti’s, Milky Lane, and Salsa.

The group said that once completed, the mall will span 58,000 square metres.

Bloemfontein and its surrounds fall under the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, which has been increasingly criticised for its financial mismanagement and inadequate service delivery.

The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Velenkosi Hlabisa, recently revealed that the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality was listed among the worst-run municipalities in South Africa.

He revealed that 38 municipalities had been identified as distressed municipalities and were receiving structured support through the Municipal Performance Turnaround Strategy.

“These municipalities were identified based on governance, financial, institutional, and service-delivery challenges that require focused support,” he said.

The Free State government placed Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality under provincial administration in 2019 due to the collapse of its financial health and service delivery.

However, the attempt was unsuccessful, and in 2022, the national government intervened to take direct control of the municipality’s operations.

In 2022, key triggers were identified as failures in the municipality, including an R1 billion deficit, rising irregular expenditure, and financial distress.

The municipality was also criticised for persistent legislative non-compliance, institutional instability, and failure to implement a Financial Recovery Plan.

In 2026, President Cyril Ramaphosa authorised the Special Investigating Unit to investigate serious maladministration and corruption in the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality.

The worst-run municipalities in South Africa

Photos of Northridge Mall