MASTER INVESTOR
A
s founder of the largest listed landlord to government in South Africa, as well as a multi-listed real estate income group specialising in African real estate outside of South Africa, Sandile Nomvete is no stranger when it comes to spotting opportunities where others only see challenges.
Sandile has, as founder and CEO of Delta Property Fund, been overseeing the REIT’ s phenomenal growth since listing in 2012. Today, the Fund is a formidable player in the commercial office space with a portfolio of 112 properties across all nine provinces and a total lettable area just shy of 1 000 000 m2. What sets Delta apart from its peers, however, is that it has carved itself a niche as a specialist accommodation provider to national and provincial governments.
Sandile is also a founder member and current chairman of Grit Real Estate Income Group, a multi-listed landlord specialising in distributing hard currency returns to shareholders by partnering with multinational companies on their accommodation needs in Africa outside of South Africa.
Humble beginnings
Born in 1973 in Hammersdale, a township halfway between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, Sandile credits his township upbringing and parents for his entrepreneurial instinct and drive.“ My parents were very entrepreneurial. They didn’ t let their circumstances dictate their futures and they both ran their own businesses, interacting with a wide range of people,” he explains.
“ Growing up in that environment I was exposed to business from a very early age. I suppose I picked up a lot from that; listening and learning. The one thing that I remember from an early childhood is how courteous my father was to everyone. He always treated people with respect, regardless of the person’ s status or standing in life.
“ This made a huge impression on me and is something I aspire to in my personal and business life. My father always made everyone feel part of the team, regardless of the significance of their contribution.
“ Today, for me it’ s still not about the leader, it’ s all about the team. I generally shy away from the spotlight – my leadership style is more based on the philosophy that if you lead from the front you can lose those who haven’ t yet bought into the vision. What makes it work is if you push everyone ahead, not leaving anyone behind.”
With his formative years spent in boarding schools – first at King’ s School in the Natal Midlands and later at St Charles’ College in Pietermaritzburg, he had to learn to stand on his own feet very quickly. Being in one of the very few mixed-race schools in the country at the time, allowed Sandile to form a perspective on racial issues that many of his generation – irrespective of colour – are still grappling with.
“ I can distinctly remember moving from a township school to the boarding school in the Drakensberg foothills – the new environment and experiences, such as seeing snow for the first time – made a massive impression on me.
“ Boarding school also makes you grow up fast! It teaches you a different sort of independence when you don’ t have the comfort of parents protecting your interests – it forces you to interact with all your peers, even those who don’ t like you.
“ These early childhood lessons, and the example set by my father has allowed me to be comfortable across the spectrum which stood me well in life and in business. As a leader, you need the skill to interact will all people regardless of whether their preconceived ideas are.”
An eye for oppportunity
After matriculating, Sandile studied computer programming, where his entrepreneurial flair led to spotting an opportunity when visiting his cousin who worked at a law firm at the time.“ I was always fascinated by the reams of papers and files and just couldn’ t understand why they haven’ t implemented an automated system. That was my first project – creating a Cobol programme to ease the paperwork,” he explains. Things escalated quickly from there as requests for integration with record keeping expanded to include a billing system, etc.“ It was a blessing in disguise that I started young with no other responsibilities. I could put in the hours without feeling that I’ m missing out.”
In business, you need a lucky break to showcase your skills. Having spotted the opportunity at the law firm, Sandile later did some work with Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza, who became head of the Investigative Unit at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.“ The fact that someone of his stature believed in this 19-year-old kid, meant a great deal to my confidence and ambition to make it work.”
Sandile’ s involvement in real estate came in the form of an approach by Marriot, who was looking for partners that could manage assets owned by Eskom at the time.
“ We had established a good relationship over time and they could identify with the entrepreneurial spirit that my business had, but I had no property experience” explains Nomvete.
A PDP crash course in property later, Motseng Marriot was formed, and the foundation for a lifelong love affair with real estate started. The company managed the Pavilion Shopping Centre in Durban, where Sandile cut his teeth in retail property.
The company, over time built a reputation as property manager with expertise in refurbishing A and B grade buildings to A + grade assets, benefitting from the value uplift and attracting longer term leases. This expertise was further refined in CBD nodes attractive to government, where Sandile and his team gained valuable experience in dealing with the administrative structures in government.
“ I’ m the kind of person that swims upstream – when every-
GETTING TO KNOW SANDILE NOMVETE
Age: 44 Marital status: Married, with 2 boys and a girl.
What are you reading at the moment? An autobiography on Marc Rich( Secret life of Marc Rich) and Billions to Bust and Back by Thor Bjorgolfsson
What is your life motto? Never let your competitors see you coming!
SA Real Estate Investor Magazine OCTOBER 2017 9