Iconic Cape Town shopping mall getting sold

·17 Feb 2025

The iconic Golden Acre shopping centre in the heart of Cape Town’s central business district is getting sold to Putirex and 11 Adderley Properties.

Sanlam built the Golden Acre shopping centre in the 1970s on the site of the original Cape Town train station.

It was the first shopping centre built in the middle of a South African city, and during construction, there was a big surprise.

Excavations revealed remnants of the northern portion of a storage dam built in 1663 where the coastline once was.

Golden Acre, on the corner of Adderley and Strand streets in central Cape Town, opened for business in 1979.

In 2009, shortly before the 2010 Soccer World Cup, the Grand Parade Shopping Centre became part of Golden Acre, adding many new stores and fast-food restaurants.

The new additions included Hungry Lion, Jive City, Cell C, McDonald’s, Sportscene, Biltong Bistro, and Giddy’s Electric Express.

It also featured Russells, Joshua Doore, OK Furnishers, Mr Price Weekend Material, Your Lunch Box, Mojo’s Home Fashion, Shoprite, and Top Boutique.

As part of the extension, dentist services and ATMs from Nedbank, First National Bank, and Standard Bank were also offered.

“The merger between Golden Acre and the Grand Parade Shopping Centre just made sense,” said John Bielich, one of the developers of this project.

The two centres are next to each other, and combining Grand Parade with Golden Acre added 10,461 square meters of general lettable area and 22,000 square meters of office space.

Today, Golden Acre is surrounded by a busy bus terminus and taxi rank and near a central railway station.

This makes it easy for commuters to access the Golden Acre shopping mall and its hundred shops.

These shops include electronics, clothing, food, footwear, health and beauty products, home décor, furniture, jewellery, accessories, sports and outdoor gear, toys, and gifts.

Golden Acre has several prominent retailers, including Shoprite, Ackermans, Markham, Foschini, Sportscene, and Totalsports.

The shopping centre’s restaurants and takeaways include Mcdonald’s, Wimpy, KFC, Steers, and Hungry Lion.

Golden Acre shopping centre getting sold

On Monday, 17 February 2025, the Competition Commission approved the deal where Putirex and 11 Adderley Properties will buy Golden Acre and Grand Parade.

The Golden Acre and Grand Parade shopping centre is currently controlled by the Paramount Property Fund.

Paramount Property Fund is a property investment company which holds a portfolio of industrial, office, retail, and parking properties in major South African nodes.

Putirex and 11 Adderley Properties own office and retail properties in the Western Cape and want to expand their portfolio.

Putirex and 11 Adderley Properties will buy Golden Acre, Grand Parade and 11 Adderley Street from Paramount Property Fund.

Golden Acre, with Grand Parade, is seen in the transaction as a retail community centre with retail and B-grade office space.

11 Adderley Street is classified as a retail neighbourhood centre with retail and A-grade office space.

The Competition Commission is of the view that the proposed transaction is unlikely to substantially lessen or prevent competition in any market.

The deal was approved with conditions. To address public interest concerns, Putirex has made commitments to procure services at Golden Acre from HDPs.

“The proposed transaction does not raise further significant public interest concerns,” the Competition Commission said.