By Nick Wilson

Independent black-owned national property management company Hermans & Roman Property Solutions announced on Friday it was awarded a contract to manage a R150m property portfolio belonging to a Durban-based property company.

The deal moves Hermans & Roman one step closer to reaching its goal of having property assets worth R5 billion under management by the end of next year.

The agreement was signed with MELKi Property Development Initiatives, which is also in the process of increasing the size of its property portfolio.

Hermans & Roman CEO Kevin Roman said the company had set up office in Durban two years ago.

He said the group, which operates from offices in Centurion and Cape Town, had discussions previously with MELKi CEO Thiru Govender about managing the property company's portfolio.

"It has now been made official," he said.

"At the moment their (MELKi's) portfolio is worth R150 million. They are busy expanding their portfolio, which will take them roughly to R200 million," said Roman.

MELKi was busy with the development of a 5000m² office building, he said.

Hermans & Roman manages properties worth R3 billion. In addition to this, the group manages the R7 billion property portfolio of the South African National Roads Agency.

Hermans & Roman was established five years ago by business partners Leslie Hermans and Kevin Roman. The group initially had three staff members. It has since grown its staff complement to about 100.

"We're incredibly pleased to be on board as we've known Thiru Govender and his team for many years," said Roman.

"With the demand for commercial property on the increase, our alignment perfectly positions us to reap the benefits of the boom in the industry," he said.

Business Day