End of era for South African property giant that built a ‘beach’ in Joburg and Pretoria
Thirty years after being founded, and 11 years after being publicly listed, Balwin Properties is going private and delisting from the JSE.
The property group, valued at R2.26 billion, will be delisting after almost 11 years on the JSE and three and a half years on A2X.
The group was founded in 1996 by Steve Brookes, growing from a small developer of 50 sectional-title units in Johannesburg South into South Africa’s leading large-scale residential estate developer.
The group listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in 2015 in the Real Estate Investment and Services sector, and added a secondary listing on the A2X exchange in 2023.
One of its crowning developments was the R10 billion Munyaka development in Waterfall City, which brought “beachside living” to Johannesburg in 2023.
Through an exclusive agreement with Crystal Lagoons, the developer built a 3-hectare water feature in the inland city, the second of its kind.
Balwin’s first clearwater lagoon was built at The Blyde in Tshwane East in 2018, which became the first development in South Africa to incorporate a clearwater lagoon built in a beach setting.
The group will now be entering private ownership, with its founder management team, alongside the Public Investment Corporation, acting on behalf of the Government Employees Pension Fund.
The delisting follows the implementation of the R2.26 billion take-private transaction, which received overwhelming shareholder support, with 98.48% of eligible votes cast in favour of the scheme.
The transaction provides eligible shareholders with R4.35 per share in cash, paid on 21 September 2026, while Balwin’s founding investors remain invested alongside the PIC.
Founder and CEO Steve Brookes said the change in ownership does not signal a change in either Balwin’s leadership or the principles on which the business has been built.
“I founded Balwin 30 years ago and remain as committed to the business today as I was then,” he said.
Balwin said its years as a listed company played an important role in its development from a founder-led residential developer into a large institutional business.
During that period, the company strengthened its governance, financial discipline, reporting standards, internal controls, risk management, Board oversight and accountability.
“Those disciplines will remain embedded in the business under private ownership,” it said.
During its listed years, Balwin delivered approximately 26,000 apartments to homeowners, generated R28.3 billion in revenue from apartment sales and returned almost R1 billion to shareholders through dividend distributions.
The company also completed its 100th residential development in 2025.
Looking ahead, the group said that existing management will remain operationally involved, while the new ownership structure provides Balwin with capital resources.
“Balwin will continue with the development model that has underpinned its growth, complemented by its annuity business and an emerging build-to-rent platform that remains in its early stages of development,” it said.
“We have 30 years behind us, an experienced management team, strong long-term shareholders and significant opportunities still ahead.”
Images of Balwin’s Munyaka beach development in Joburg
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