Market shocks are no longer ‘ black swan ’ events . They have become a relatively normal part of our world . The COVID-19 pandemic , the Russia- Ukraine war , the looting and unrest of last year , and the recent floods and infrastructure collapse in KZN are a few top-of-mind examples of shocks that have reverberated around the world and across our country . Even the Southern tip of Africa is not immune to the ripple effects of distant shocks . For proof , simply look at fuel prices .
Without knowing the exact nature of the inevitable next crisis , it is still possible to build a business that can withstand shocks and be agile enough to take advantage of the opportunities that emerge in an unstable environment .
During the most challenging months of the pandemic lockdowns and restrictions , Atterbury introduced some helpful new practices to give us a clear picture of our business ’ s health at any moment in time . Now that we seem to be returning to normalcy , we are applying what we learned and retaining these good practices as part of the way we operate .
Gearing is key to the property development model , which is generally highly geared but with hedged interest rates to mitigate the critical risk of interest rates rising quicker than expected . The arrival of COVID-19 , however , put the cash-flow side of the model
SA Real Estate Investor Magazine JUNE 2022 85