A leading company in the development, leasing and management of AAA-grade new generation industrial warehousing, with a property portfolio exceeding 900 000 square metres and Southern Africa's largest self-owned cold storage facilities, this is the organisation's first foray into this country's commercial property market.

Commenting at the recent official opening of its 6 500 square metre Pran Boulevard project, Shree Property Holdings Chief Executive Officer, Mr Pran Shree, said: "This iconic office complex symbolises our commitment to bringing to Durban's commercial space the premium grade office infrastructure - a level above the AAA-grade offices developed in the country's economic hub, Gauteng - we believe the business community here deserves."

He added that the office complex, located on a superior, sea-facing site in the upper-most quadrant of Ridgeside - one of this country's most sought-after urban development nodes - represented 'a new and challenging' direction for the company.

"This is the manifestation of our business diversification strategy and is the first of a series of new and exciting commercial developments we have in the property pipeline. We are well-known for our professional industrial property development, connecting blue-chip clients to logistics supply chains across South Africa and the globe, so entry into the commercial sector is breaking new ground for us. However, we believe this to be a sector with massive development potential and we intend bringing all our industry experience and expertise to bear in our quest to take commercial property development to an altogether new level of Premium (P) Grade offices," Mr Shree said.

Shree Property Holdings has laid down the gauntlet, promising commercial structure customisation and finishes of the highest quality.

"Expanding into the commercial space enables us to now begin introducing the same exacting standards of excellence we apply - and for which we are known - within the industrial sector," Mr Shree stressed.

The new and architecturally innovative building is anchored by auditing firm, KPMG, with leading Information Technology company, Thusa, also taking up office space here.

KPMG Managing Director, Mr Ugen Moodley, said of the company's move to Ridgeside: "We are excited about our new home. This new office environment complements our agile development process as we continuously work to enhance our service offerings, with the goal of adding more hires across all departments. Our iconic new location and enhanced operational efficiencies will help us to continue to grow and develop, keeping pace with our clients' needs and allowing us to provide exceptional value and exceptional service along the way."

The new structure, on one of very few remaining road frontages off Umhlanga Rocks Drive, brings a refreshing new look to Ridgeside and is also the headquarters for Shree Property Holdings, while offering additional premium office space for tenant use. 

Thusa Director, Mr Gerard Roberts, commented: "The location is great for us and with our long-standing friendship and business relationship with the Shree family, we believe we are ideally placed now to assist in promoting future growth, to the benefit of both Shree Property Holdings and our own company."

"Locating our offices in this stunning and iconic business complex finally correctly reflects the image Thusa, as a vibrant and dynamic IT player, aims to portray to South Africa and the world," added fellow Director, Mr Carl Petzer.   

Shree Property Holdings operates predominantly in Greater Durban. Its facilities - all developed, leased and managed by Shree Property Holdings - are home to many blue-chip companies, inclusive of Samsung and Yangtze Optics Africa Cable, and positioned in prime industrial locations around the port of Durban, within Pran Park - Dube TradeZone - adjacent to King Shaka International Airport - and at Mon Trésor, adjacent to SSR International Airport in Mauritius.