{"id":844731,"date":"2025-11-27T09:10:53","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T07:10:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=844731"},"modified":"2025-11-27T09:17:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T07:17:12","slug":"international-travellers-flocking-to-south-african-icon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/property\/844731\/international-travellers-flocking-to-south-african-icon\/","title":{"rendered":"International travellers flocking to South African icon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The V&amp;A Waterfront remains a strong performer for Growthpoint Properties, buoyed by increased international travel.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a trading update for the quarter ending September 30, 2025, Growthpoint stated that the V&amp;A Waterfront is expected to experience significant growth over the next three to five years.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This comes amid a strong development pipeline for the South African icon, which is owned 50-50 with the Public Investment Corporation (PIC).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Q1, tourism growth remained steady, with international and domestic passenger arrivals at Cape Town International Airport increasing by 5%.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hotel demand remained robust, supported by tourism and events. Average daily rates increased by 16% compared to the same period last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Waterfront also saw a strong performance from hotels under an operating agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the group noted that the current performance of the iconic property has been affected by the decommissioning and redevelopment of The Table Bay Hotel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) grew by 5% compared to the same three months in 2024.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like-for-like EBIT growth was up 16.0%, with the group underpinned by an 8% increase in retail sales, which boosted turnover-based rental income.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The group\u2019s office portfolio continued to perform strongly, with zero vacancies and sustained demand contributing positively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The marine &amp; industrial sector in the Waterfront also saw improvement, driven by increased demand for casual berths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Growthpoint said that investment in the precinct continued during the period, which included the following projects:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The desalination plant was successfully commissioned and has been operational since mid-March 2025, generating 3.3kl of water per day.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Development on the 3,759 sqm new luxury wing at Victoria Wharf is well advanced, with completion expected in December 2025 and phased occupation thereafter.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Table Bay Hotel is on track to reopen as an InterContinental Hotel in a phased manner from December 2025.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Development of the Quay 7 luxury hotel, comprising 142 keys, is well progressed to be completed by June 2026, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Construction of the 5 Dock Road residential apartments is expected in January 2026.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Excluding residential sales, EBIT for FY26 is expected to be marginally higher than the prior year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is primarily driven by the strong performance in the retail and hospitality sectors, which benefit from increased international tourism.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Outside of the temporary loss of income from the Table Bay Hotel and the Luxury Mall, the group said that the Waterfront\u2019s operational performance is robust.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Other developments<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a  data-lightbox=\"post-image\" href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/waterfront-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/waterfront-1-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-837496\" srcset=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/waterfront-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/waterfront-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/waterfront-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/waterfront-1.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Growthpoint stated that the group incurred R249.2 million in development and capital expenditure for its South African portfolio during the quarter.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This included projects at La Lucia Mall, Durban (R24.3m), Longbeach Mall, Noordhoek, Cape Town (R17.6m), Beacon Bay Retail Park, East London (R16.1m), and Alberton City, Johannesburg (R10.8m).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>La Lucia Mall is set for a major Expansion, with Checkers as the lead tenant. Meanwhile, Shoprite is launching at Alberton City.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Due to the low South African loan-to-value ratio, reduced debt levels and lower cost of capital, Growthpoint is evaluating a host of acquisitions and redevelopments.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a  data-lightbox=\"post-image\" href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-65.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"478\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-65-1024x478.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-844734\" srcset=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-65-1024x478.png 1024w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-65-300x140.png 300w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-65-768x359.png 768w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-65-1536x718.png 1536w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-65.png 1543w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The V&#038;A Waterfront remains a strong performer for Growthpoint Properties, buoyed by increased international travel.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":837498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12755],"tags":[12043],"class_list":["post-844731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-property","tag-growthpoint"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=844731"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":844738,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844731\/revisions\/844738"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/837498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=844731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=844731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=844731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}