Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa May 2018 | Page 14

COVER STORY
Minerals, there’s more to the man than mining. Earning his
LLB from Wits in 1988, Motsepe started work at one of the
largest law firms in the country, Bowman Gilfillan. In 1991,
as visiting attorney to a law firm in Virginia, USA, he was ex-
posed to several mining organisations, sparking an long-idling
interest in the business. As a child, Motsepe would have daily
exposure to clients of his father’s shop, most of them miners.
He decided to specialise in mining and business law.
Future Mining was built on the principle that successful
mines aren’t always the largest ones, but rather the best run.
This, coupled with a dash of luck, eventually lead to what be-
came known as African Rainbow Minerals.
In 1997, with the price of gold plummeting, AngloGold
was looking to offload some of its low-performing shafts. Mo-
tsepe, always one to seize a good opportunity, jumped at the
chance to buy them. There was only one problem. At $8.2m,
the price tag proved to be too high for a black South Afri-
can unable to get a loan from any banks. CEO of AngloGold
at the time, Bobby Godsell, had played witness to Motsepe’s
business smarts and passion for the industry, and he took note.
It was agreed that Motsepe, through African Rainbow Miner-
als, would be allowed to repay the price through the company’s
profits.
Within a few years, Motsepe delivered on the promise. Af-
ter three years, he had managed to turn the struggling mines
around, delivering a profit after only 12 months. Armed with a
healthy track record, the businessman entered into a partner-
ship with Anglo Platinum, delivering similarly stellar results.
Fast forward to present time, and Motsepe is at the head of
one of the largest mining companies on the continent, with
revenues exceeding $2b and employing more than 10 000
workers.
Putting it to good use
In 2004, Motsepe founded Ubunto-Botho Investments. The
aim was to build black controlled capital by being Sanlam’s
empowerment partner. The company’s vision was two-fold.
The first phase consisted of accumulating capital, while the
second involves partially investing said capital in African
Rainbow Capital.
ARC listed on the JSE in September of 2017. ARC and,
by definition, Ubuntu-Botho Investments, consists of a 20%
stake held by broad based BEE groups, including women’s
groups, unions, and youth trusts. The remainder is held by the
Sanlam Ubuntu-Botho Community Development Trust and
the Motsepe Family Trust.
The initial goal is far from forgotten. More than 400 000
people have directly benefitted from annual disbursement
from funds, while half the profits realised by the company
will be redistributed to the community through several foun-
dations. ARC Investments holds a portfolio valued at R4.5b,
with a diverse range of investments. The majority of invest-
ments, by value, fal l within the IT and telecommunications
sector, with Financial Services and Agriculture and Food Pro-
duction rounding out the top three.
In March of this year, ARC partnered with Barloworld and
Atterbury in the redevelopment of the Barlow Park Campus,
in Sandton. Each party holds one-third of the landmark site,
with investment value expected to climb to well over R3b as
the full development is rolled out. Upon completion, it is set to
be a 130 000sqm mixed use precinct.
The site is in the process of being rezoned, a process that
could take up to a year. Subject to this, the site development
will include approximately 55 000sqm of offices, nearly 800
residential units, a community retail centre coming in at
around 10 000sqm, along with a hotel and gym. Once zoning
12
MAY/JUNE 2018 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine
approval is obtained, the development is expected to follow a
6 to 8 year development timeline, being phased out according
to market demand.
With investments in all the key sectors of the economy,
Motsepe seems to embody what it means to have one’s finger
on the pulse of innovation. In a rapidly evolving world, and an
uncertain local landscape, knowing when to pounce is what
sets the masters apart from the rest.
LEARN HOW GREAT REAL ESTATE LEADERS INSPIRE ACTION
SOURCES
Forbes, Bloomberg, Startup Tips, African Rainbow Minerals,
African Rainbow Capital, PayProp, Tyme, Val de Vie, ooba,
ROBERT KIYOSAKI DR CHRISTO WIESE MIKE FLAX
RYK NEETHLING DOLF DE ROOS JEFF ZIDEL
VIVIAN REDDY JOHN SMIT BRONWYN CORBETT
NOTABLE INVESTMENTS
ooba
Ooba, formerly MortgageSA, pioneered mortgage
origination in South Africa and now offers a range
of solutions to homebuyers. As South Africa’s
leading home loan originator, they can help you to
not only finance your home with ease, but also see
that you’re well insured. The homebuyer solutions
comprise of two core offerings: oobabond and
oobainsure.
Rain
Rain is intended to be a “full service” Mobile Net-
work Operator, focusing on data as a primary offer-
ing. The major assets constitute spectrum licenses
and Rain has made significant progress in building
a dedicated national LTE Advanced network in the
valuable under-utilised frequencies.
Majik Holdings
Squarestone Growth LLP is a high yield region-
al commercial property portfolio managed by
Squarestone, an experienced asset manager with
offices in London and Edinburgh. The core invest-
ment strategy is to acquire well located modern
properties at a discount to replacement build cost
with demonstrable potential to enhance rental and
capital growth through active asset management.
Val de Vie
Voted Safest Estate in Africa at the International
Property Awards, the Val de Vie development of
917 hectares offers buyers a range of small farms,
large stands, plot and plan options and luxury
apartments.
ARC Real Estate
A joint venture between ARC and Signature Invest-
ment Holdings, ARC RE has a specific investment
mandate relating to empowerment-linked proper-
ty transactions. As a well-capitalised and majority
Black-owned property fund, ARC RE’s objective is
to partner with leading South African corporates
in leveraging the opportunities created through
the various Broad-Based Black Economic Codes of
Good Practice (“BEE Codes”), in respect of proper-
ty-linked transactions and exposures.
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