Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa December 14/ January 15 | Page 13

upfront
PERSONAL STATISTICS

J

ason McCormick is the managing director and deal maker at
McCormick Property Development. This family-run business was
founded three decades ago in 1983 by his father, chairman John
McCormick.

McCormick Property specialises in the development of shopping
centres in the previously-disadvantaged rural areas and former
‘homelands’. This property development company has worked closely with
local communities, per project and from inception, to set up the first Black
Economic Empowerment (BEE) scheme in the country in 1985. Th
McCormick Property remains fully committed to broad-based economic
empowerment to this very day.
McCormick Property Development has completed 55 shopping centres
to the value of over R7 billion during its 30-year history, creating 40,000
jobs in the process.
Lessons learned
A valuable lesson that Jason has learnt from deal making is that one
always has to leave something on the table for the other party. “Everyone
always has to make a buck,” Jason advises. He learnt this old adage from
his father and business mentor.
“Working alongside my father over the past 12 years has been an
absolute privilege. I could not have asked for a better mentor, both in
terms of the pure business side of the industry, as well as being a guide on
the manner in which to run a business, according to his ethical morals,”
Jason says proudly.
Investment philosophy
Jason’s father has always maintained that, “Nothing is more important
than our reputation.” Jason has learnt to walk away from deals, rather than
pursue them for pure capitalistic benefit.
This invaluable lesson has ensured that the majority of deals that
Jason has done has been through word-of-mouth recommendations or
references from parties that he has dealt with previously. Most partners
have brought them multiple deals, following an initial successful deal.
As Jason is still young and has a long path ahead of him in business, his
investment philosophy is to look for long-term continuity. “I see no reason
to try screw every cent out of every deal, to maximise our profits on just
one deal,” he says.
This philosophy has certainly paid dividends, with McCormick
Properties having developed a current pipeline of over 35 new retail
developments. The majority of these developments have come through
references from past business clients and associates.
Where it all started
Jason has always showed leadership potential, even during his years at
Michael House Boarding School in KwaZulu-Natal. In 1997, he was
deputy head boy. While still at school, Jason played provincial rugby and
was in the Kwa-Zulu Natal Midlands under-19 cricket team.
Jason had always known that he will one day become involved in the
family business. “Ever since my father founded McCormick Property
www.reimag.co.za

Age: 36
Education: Bcomm (Honours) in
Business Mangement and Economics at
Stellenbosch University
Married: Nicole (nee La Grange); a
hyper-intellectual marketing genius who
shares my passion for life and the wild
places of Africa.
Children: Not yet – we will have
only been married seven weeks on 19
November 2014!

CLOSE-UP
Mentors: Both of my parents are my
mentors. My father is my mentor for his
business acumen and moral fortitude.
Meanwhile, my mother is my mentor
for her grounded spirituality and loving,
caring nature.
What are you reading?
I’m currently completing my pilot’s
licence, so my spare time is taken up
studying for this, leaving little time to
read anything else. However, when I
do read, it is mostly non-fiction relating
to business, leadership or anything to
quench my thirst for knowledge!
Future achievements: I have
been fortunate to be given the best
education I could have asked for. Being a
highly self-motivated person, I still have
a multitude of things to achieve. In my
professional career, the development of
Africa is where I see lots of my time being
invested over the next few decades. Being
an avid conservationist, I will like to be
involved in making conservation of the
wilderness areas of Africa a priority for
governments, through the development
of communities through conservation. It
is only through positive, tangible socioeconomic upliftment of communities
through conservation that governments
will give conservation the attention that
it deserves. I see this as a life goal that I
want to achieve outside the sphere of my
business influence.
Motto: “Life is too short to sweat the
small stuff”!

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