Upbeat about the prospects for its continued growth in the Pretoria area, Investec (INL, INP), South Africa's fifth largest bank by assets, has secured a new site in Menlyn, Pretoria, to build a free-standing office for the region.
Announcing plans for the new building, Investec says that its Investec Private Bank division had enjoyed exponential growth over the past few years, servicing high-income professionals and high-net-worth individuals on both the asset and liability sides of their balance sheets.
According to Wouter de Vos, Head of Investec Private Bank's Northern Region, the new location would provide convenience, ease of access and a more central location for clients.
"We are very optimistic concerning local economic growth, which should underpin our expansion in the Northern Region. Our team currently comprises 160 people, and we expect to move approximately 200 people into our new office in May next year," he revealed.
"Our approach to partnering with clients, leveraging off our national and international reach and capabilities, has delivered tangible benefits for all stakeholders and justifies our anticipation for further growth," said de Vos.
"We bring private clients financial opportunities and help them to realise these through services relating to daily transactional banking, private wealth management, property investment banking and growth and acquisition finance."
The Pretoria office had carried out significant retail, residential property, as well as growth and acquisition transactions around South Africa, on behalf of Investec's Pretoria-based clients, he noted.
"By matching our clients to opportunities and matching opportunities to clients on both a national and international basis, Investec Private Bank has successfully partnered many entrepreneurial clients, particularly in the sphere of black economic empowerment.
"In a typical transaction, we recently sourced a portfolio of commercial and industrial properties and introduced the opportunity to a black economic empowerment (BEE) partner of ours, after which we structured a funding solution whereby we provided senior and mezzanine debt, and participated in a profit share arrangement.
"We then went to the market, identified a potential buyer and successfully concluded the on-sale of the portfolio of properties. As a result, we created substantial equity for our BEE partner, and a platform for further acquisitions."
"We constantly seek opportunities to leverage our core competence in risk management in an endeavour to assist our clients in the creation of wealth. We achieve this through our specialist private bankers and our investment banking mindset."
Michael O'Sullivan, from interior designers O'Sullivan Group, said the design for the new building would accommodate the considerable influence new information technologies can have on the working environment.
"With the development of each new building for Investec around the world, we seek to refresh the look and feel of existing Investec offices to incorporate new technological and design innovation. The Pretoria building, for instance, will support the use of flat screen monitors and wireless technologies, improved access to audio-visual support in meeting rooms and convenient, attractive amenities for employees."
The aim was to provide well-considered spatial design to encourage and support new ways of working and to accommodate the growth of Investec's regional office, O'Sullivan concluded.
I-Net Bridge
Publisher: I-Net Bridge
Source: I-Net Bridge
