Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa February 2015 | Page 13

upfront Q&A M arc Wainer, retired as CEO of Redefine Properties last year, and is now acting as Executive Chairman of the company. His first move into property was when he appointed the Kempton City mall manager in 1973 before becoming one of SA’s top property tycoon’s almost four decades later. His career and journey from small business to achieving incredible financial success started when he grew Redefine from its initial R400 million market capitalisation to almost R50 billion assets under management today. Marc shares his career lessons and key achievements in real estate with REIM, which in many cases was challenging but produced spectacular financial results associated with valuable lessons. Marc also recently released a book, Making My Marc: Lessons from Life in Property, written by Tudor Caradoc-Davies and inspired by the late Ian Fife, a property journalist and investor. In his book, Marc shares his experiences about the inner workings of what really went on behind the scenes in South Africa’s dynamic, highly-competitive commercial property sector. Marc reveals a glimpse into some of the biggest deals in the local market and how these deals were done. He also shares the lessons he learned from them. Marc attributes his success to a combination of luck, being in the right place at the right time but believes that you can create your own luck. When opportunities were presented he feels he was brave enough to seize the ones that came his way. He has worked and learnt from special people that have helped him over the years. He feels that people in property can learn from his successes and failures when they are faced with similar challenges. His underlying belief is that if you have the passion and perseverance to succeed, then you will. He says that property is not the road to instant wealth and is a slow and steady way of accumulating wealth over time. His says no doubt there will be mistakes made along the way and they should not be regarded as failures but rather as learning experiences. MARC’S CAREER MILESTONES 1968 - 1973 Worked in family grocery store, which ended in disaster when it was sold off fraudulently leaving the family in massive debt. www.reimag.co.za 1973 - 1975 Secured his first property job as manger of Kempton City shopping centre with Summit Construction 1. What inspired you to write the book? The book was the idea of financial journalist, Ian Fife, who unfortunately passed away before we got it going. I also wanted it as a legacy for my grandchildren. 2. What is your life and investment philosophy? If you dream it you can do it. 3. What attributes do you feel has led to your success? Passion, a drive to succeed, as well as a big focus on relationships. 4. What are the key lessons that you have learnt? Success is a journey not a destination. There will be ups and downs, but learn from your mistakes and do not repeat them. 5. What insights did you gain from the lessons? Sometimes the best deals you can do are the ones you walk away from. 6. What key tools would you give investors to use from your experiences? Know your strengths and your weaknesses and employ the best people you can to do what you are not good at. 7. What do you consider to be your most significant professional achievement? The success of Redefine Properties, which was listed in 2000. Redefine has grown from an initial market cap of R400 million to over R40 billion. 8. How did you survive and succeed as a commercial property investor? Learning from my mistakes and never giving up. 9. Who do you consider to be your most important mentors/ role models? Eric Ellerine with whom I have had a 26-year partnership. 10. What has been your most significant property deal? The acquisition of Canal Walk for Hyprop. 11. What motivates you? Growing Redefine’s income and portfolio and doing things differently. 12. What is your vision for Redefine Properties in the future? Any exciting projects on the cards? Redefine Properties should remain one of the largest and most sought after property stocks. We will continue to diversify our portfolio and look forward to exciting investment opportunities which may be outside what we have done in the past, such as student accommodation and residential. 13. What opportunities do you foresee in the South African and African commercial property investment industry in 2015? 2015 will be another tough year, but the falling oil price should help consumer spending. There will be some opportunities, but international markets are offering better returns. 1975 - 1981 Banks pull the plug on Summit Construction and Marc forms Citiplan a property management company 1981 - 1988 Marc sells Citiplan to I. Kuper and Company and launches Incity, specialists in sectional title conversions. 1989 – 1995 Joins Investec after it merged with MetBoard which had acquired Incity February 2015 SA Real Estate Investor 13