The urban renewal of Claremont, the central hub of Cape Town’s southern suburbs, has received a lucrative boost from the largest direct inward investment in a foreign owned call centre in South Africa to date.    Leading UK telecommunications company The Phone House, who recently announced a R200-million investment into the South African call centre industry, will locate their Cape Town operations at Stadium on Main in the heart of Claremont's CBD.

Says Chris Drummond, Co-owner and Director of New Property Ventures, the developers of Stadium on Main, "Some three years ago we identified Claremont, and specifically Stadium on Main, as an ideal call centre location and initiated discussions with industry stakeholders to acquire the right partner.   Securing a 6-year lease with The Phone House as an anchor tenant for 5,000m2 of space at Stadium on Main is a major triumph for New Property Ventures and indeed for Claremont as a commercial hub. 

"The Phone House's investment is anticipated to have an enormous impact in terms of attracting similar commercial investments to the area and the impact will be strongly felt in the local job market," says Drummond.

Commenting on the suitability of Stadium on Main for call centres, Drummond said the location's attractiveness to the new tenant included it being situated close to public transport and having a more than adequate parking infrastructure on site.  The great shopping facilities, vibrant retail experience, and 24 hour entertainment and gym amenities, provide unprecedented staff wellness benefits which is attributed as one the main reasons why The Phone House selected Stadium on Main.

Call centre operators want a fun and vibrant working environment.  Stadium on Main and the surrounding area provide the type of job satisfaction benefits that call centre staff find irresistibly appealing," Drummond explains.  This B+ grade office space, gives the new tenants the added benefit of having their basic communication infrastructure already in place in the building. 

"The biggest physical conversion we will make in preparation for the tenant's move is the development of an interconnecting staircase between the two floors in the office tower, allowing staff quick access to breakaway areas and refreshment vending machines," adds Drummond.

South Africa's burgeoning call-centre industry is set to secure close to R1-billion in foreign investment in the coming year and analysts expect that by the end of 2006, up to 10,000 South Africans could be dealing exclusively with overseas customers. The country already has 535 call centres, employing an estimated 65,000 people.

South Africa's attractiveness and competitive advantages, particularly to the British call centre industry, includes good English language skills, a similar time zone and comparable cultural outlook.  South Africans are also cited as having a good working and customer service ethic. 

Drummond predicts that inward investment in call centres will continue and existing developments with the infrastructure to host a call centre operator could likely benefit as more operators identify South Africa as an option. 

"A call centre relocation is a decision which must be made relatively swiftly as the damage to business is huge if clients receive bad service from a call centre.  This means that the greenfield site or new build option normally takes too long, so the conversion of existing buildings is vastly more preferable."

Anthony Davies, the Executive Manager of the Claremont Improvement District Company (CIDC) is delighted by the vote of confidence for the area. "This major investment takes us one step closer to making Claremont a highly desirable location from a commercial, retail and residential perspective."

Claremont, traditionally a prime commercial node of the southern suburbs of Cape Town has, until recently, had world-class buildings cheek by jowl with downgraded buildings and a crime-ridden environment.  Since the inception of the CIDC in 2000, it has reversed the trend of 'crime and grime' which has subsequently led to a marked confidence in the area.  Subsequent investments have seen the area massively upgraded.

In the last two years, the face of Claremont's CBD has seen rapid change and Davies believes this trend is set to continue.  In excess of R1-billion worth of new property developments - planned or currently underway - are anticipated to be completed within the Claremont CBD area by December 2006.

"This urban renewal impact exceeds any other experienced in any central business district in South Africa," Davies concluded.

ENDS

ISSUED BY:           The Phoenix Partnership
ON BEHALF OF:        New Property Ventures
FOR MORE INFO:       Dominique Coetzee, The Phoenix Partnership
Tel: (021) 422 2541  Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

FOR COMMENT:           Chris Drummond, New Property Ventures