German, French, Italian and US companies are piling into this South African city

Waterall City in northern Johannesburg continues to attract international companies, and developer Attacq is planning several new developments for the area.

In the group’s results for the latter half of 2024, the group said that the demand for ‘collaboration hubs’ in Waterfall City continues to rise, which is driving growth in market rentals.

The group welcomed several global organisations to its ‘collaboration hubs’ in the last six months.

This includes German-based pharmaceutical giant Bayer and Siemens Energy, Finnish telecommunications company Nokia, and US-based healthcare company Organon.

The group said the occupancy rate for collaboration hubs post-period increased from 87.7% to 89.5%.

When it comes to retail, Attacq also welcomed the Italian-based United Colors of Benetton and the French-based Decathlon.

Speaking at a media roundtable, the group’s exco also highlighted the company’s development plans.

With a capital expenditure of roughly R2.75 billion, Attacq has several developments planned for Waterfall City.

This includes Gateway East, an office development, which will be near the existing Gateway West opposite Mall of Africa.

Gateway East is set to be around 11,700 sqm, with a roughly 1,500 sqm ground floor restaurant area, with the group’s exco still seeing strong demand for dining.

Moreover, the group plans a 10,000 sqm data centre for Waterfall City, which comes amidst a rise in demand due to increased cloud and AI computing.

Other developments include the 15,000 sqm Waterfall City Conference Centre and Hotel, two client-driven logistic developments of 90,000 sqm and 16,000 sqm, and a 20,000 sqm Logistics spec development.

Attacq CEO Jackie van Niekerk said the capital would be spent over the next decade.

However, she admitted that she is fiscally conservative and that the developments could be completed earlier amid improved market conditions.

Although Attacq will be involved in the developments, it will also have partners that will take on part ownership and investment responsibilities for the developments.

Following the success of the Ellipse Waterfall residential development, the group also plans to launch the Aspire Waterfall City development by Q4 FY25.

This will consist of a 19-story, roughly 217-unit residential tower with an incorporated mixed-use component. It will be integrated as part of the Mall of Africa precinct.

Attacq’s interest in the Aspire Waterfall City is 25.0%, a build-to-sell residential strategic model.

Beyond new developments, Attacq is also scaling its backup water capacity due to growing water challenges.

By 2026, all of Attacq’s assets will have a backup capacity between 2 to 5 days, which should ensure water security across its portfolio.

Financials

The new developments come amid the group’s strong performance, which has been boosted by several transactions in recent years.

This includes the group acquiring the final 20% shareholding of Mall of Africa that it did not already own and the Government Employees Pension Fund taking over 30% of the Attacq Waterfall Investment Company.

The group’s exco also noted that Cell C has repaid roughly R45 million in rental arreas that the telco company owed it via a loan.

The group’s interim distributable income per share increased by 49.1% to 55.0 cents per share, with it increasing its interim dividend by 46.7% to 44 cents per share.

Earnings per share increased by 169.4% to 100.2 cents, while headline earnings per share increased to 53.7 cents.

The group’s guidance expects full-year distributable income per share to be between 24.0% and 27.0% higher.