Spire Property Management continues its national growth in the retail sector, with the recent securing of three new management contracts for retail centres situated in outlying areas.
Spire Property Management continues its national growth in the retail sector, with the recent securing of three new management contracts for retail centres situated in outlying areas.This is according to Sean Paul, Managing Director of Spire, who says the three retail properties are non-metropolitan shopping and community centres servicing the lower LSM markets in high growth nodes, close to commuter networks.
The first centre is the Shoprite Centre, which is situated in the heart of the Brits CBD at 50 Pienaar Street. The centre has a good mix of national tenants and low vacancies.
The second centre is the Shoprite Centre in Modimolle (Nylstroom), which is situated on Nelson Mandela Drive. This relatively new centre, which was only built five years ago, is located on the main arterial route into Modimolle and enjoys a strong national tenant presence.
The third centre is the Shoprite Centre in Ennerdale, which is situated in Marais Close. The centre, like the others, is anchored by Shoprite and has approximately 2 000sqm of additional bulk available for future development.
Paul says the successful management of retail centres in outlying areas holds unique challenges. He says it is essential for retail centres operating in outlying areas to work closely with the community and ensure that the centre is valued for the services that it provides.
Landlords must ensure that security is in place and is effective, and that public transport is accessible for shoppers, making the centre the convenience hub for the area, he says.
Paul says managers need to forge links and work with local service providers from the community to ensure the availability of hands-on expertise is accessible at all times.
“Hands-on professional property management is essential, particularly in the retail sector.” Property Managers are of vital importance to landlords and should be intricately involved in the tenant's business and understand what the tenants need to succeed, he says.
“They should be a positive source of encouragement and knowledge to the smaller line shops and a provider of value add service to the national stores.”
Paul says Spire plan to roll out an occupancy cost reduction strategy to all of these retail centres and will also look at ways to make the centres look and feel more appealing for tenants and shoppers alike. They will look at ways to enhance the space through measures such as improved lighting, fresh paint and revitalised facades, to name a few examples.
Paul says these are all great new contracts for Spire and they are confident that they will be able to add value to the properties for the owners, keeping the tenants happy and the buildings in good shape.
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