At Southcoast Mall in KwaZulu-Natal extensions have just been completed which increased the mall from 28 173m2 to 29 357m2. Valued at R10,8 million, these include a new 1 337m2 Mr Price Home Store and follow last year’s 1 000m² extension to Boardmans at a cost of R6 million.

Flagship centre Canal Walk has seen the recent development of new premises for a 3 500m2 Mr Price Home store and a 1 600 m2 Sportsmans Warehouse. Further developments in the pipeline include a 1 400m² expansion to Woolworths and 16 000m² additional retail space, while plans to enlarge the food court are ongoing.

The group also recently announced the development of an upmarket four-star hotel adjacent to Hyde Park Shopping Centre at a total cost of R180 million. The hotel will be developed together with Southern Sun who will manage it on opening, anticipated to be in June 2009.

Hyprop CEO Pieter Prinsloo concludes: “Hyprop will continue to pursue organic growth opportunities by retaining focus on prime retail developments in strategic locations with good demographics. We see strategic expansion projects as key to unlocking value in our existing centres and positioning the group for growth in challenging market conditions. Maintaining growth in the portfolio with consistent quality assets will be crucial to generating continued growth in distributions to unitholders.”