By Bob Kernohan ?p?What do you get when you mix together two lawyers, a former teacher, an international financial expert and an international investment specialist? ?p?No - it?s not a golf club joke (although in this case it could be), but a serious question. The answer is: A new Eastern Cape property development company that already has R150-million in projects on its books. ?p?And the reference to a golf club is not out of place either. That?s because the name of the new company - Lynx SA Property Investments in Walmer - arose from a suggestion among the four partners, who are also golfing buddies, that they name their new joint venture ?links?, as in a seaside golf course. ?p??But one of our partners - Kevin Bailey - had been involved in successful ventures overseas that had the names of cat species, like Lions? Den, so we went for Lynx to carry on the association with success,? said director Peter Allanson. ?p?He is a former lawyer, who worked for a leading Mandela Bay firm of attorneys, while Bailey is the international investor, with interests which include mining, property, pharmaceuticals and leisure locally and overseas. ?p?Derick Kirsten is another lawyer, who went on to work for a leading bank, while the former teacher is Leon Erasmus, who switched from that profession to the property industry 14 years ago. The fifth partner is ?DM? Kirsten, a chartered accountant, who has been practising in Holland and has returned to Port Elizabeth with his family to help establish Lynx. ?p??We have chosen to invest in many of the exciting opportunities in Nelson Mandela Bay,? said Allanson. ?p??The region is booming in every respect. The motor industry is on a high, Coega is progressing, and the first staff from the Alcan refinery project have started settling in the city. ?p??Office and industrial space are at a premium and residential properties and developments are in high demand. All these factors, in turn, are fuelling a need for growth in the city?s infrastructure.? ?p?Allanson said at the official launch of the company this week - it was established late last year - that all of these had been recognised by Lynx SA, which was formed to achieve ?critical mass and collect diverse skills to build a significant property company in the Eastern Cape and South Africa?. ?p?It has been formed by amalgamating the Erasmus Kirsten Property Group and Albasset Investments. ?p?Investments and projects under way or scheduled for the go-ahead in the next 18 months totalled R150-million, said Allanson. They include: ?p??li?Building a R35-million office park at the corner of Heugh Road and Third Avenue in Walmer on a site from which the company is operating at present. ?li?The R50-million development of Parsons Ridge, west of the city, planned to include 3 000 new homes, a light industrial area, and a shopping centre. Work has already started on infrastructure for the first phase of 500 homes. ?li?The building of 58 upmarket homes at the Black Rock coastal estate at Beachview, the first stage of which is budgeted at R20-million. ?li?A six-unit, R20-million apartment block at Brookes Hill on the Port Elizabeth beachfront. ?li?Projects worth R25-million being undertaken to provide commercial and retail properties in areas like Walmer, Newton Park and Westering. ?p?Allanson said the company would also provide property management services and residential and real estate sales and letting operations. ?p?Weekend Post
Publisher: I-Net Bridge
Source: I-Net Bridge