Commenting on the announcement, Jacques Weber, Operational Director for Inospace explains, “We have been on a bold yet strategic acquisition strategy over the past 14 months, and are delighted in particular to have recently acquired Table Bay Industrial Park which will be renamed The Island.

The Cape-based property company acquired the 24,000 square metre Island Centre from Ascension Properties for R115m. With their recent acquisition from SA Corporate Real Estate, the 18-month old company has become the largest property owner in Paarden Eiland, which is one of the country’s most valuable industrial suburbs. 

Weber, a well-known former Cape Town City Councillor, explains that Inospace is part of a global trend of highly specialised real estate businesses taking advantage of a structural market shift, one that is moving towards a customer-first and flexible approach.

“Our company has had a record year in terms of transactional volumes and is focusing on a few nodes which are on the urban edge of South Africa’s major cities. “Wynberg, Sandton is another key strategic node for us,” he explains. “It’s on the doorstep of the country’s most expensive office and retail node, and we have seen excellent demand for our product in the area”.

Inospace also recently took possession of fifteen individual properties from Dipula Income Fund, bringing its ownership in the suburb to over 30,000 square metres.

The privately held company acquires large industrial sites and provides a range of free shared services including restaurants, business centres, meeting rooms and technology solutions. 

Inospace typically buys larger buildings that can be transformed into multi-let parks comprising offices, studios, storage and traditional warehouse spaces. Unlike traditional real estate income funds, their model is different in that they acquire partially or fully vacant properties that are quickly turned into high-yielding, flexible-use products.  

Weber explains that most property companies shy away from their operationally intensive model. “We are not a real estate fund nor are we a property manager”. 

Inospace is similar to German based Sirius Real Estate Fund and UK based Stenprop that are both listed on the Johannesburg stock Exchange, but own no assets locally. Inospace made its first foray into South African business parks when it acquired a site in Epping Industrial Cape Town and shortly thereafter launched the Powder Mill in Ndabeni, 5km north of the City.

Their latest acquisition will bring the company’s sites to over 20. The company seems to be bucking the trend of several larger property funds that have been under pressure through most of 2018, by showing phenomenal growth.

"This latest acquisition plays to the strengths of our integrated business model and track record of achieving efficiencies at sites we acquire in and around markets where we already have existing business parks."