Octodec Investments is proud to announce its newly launched partnership with Property Point. Octodec will support two black property valuer firms through its Enterprise Development Programme. These two individuals are hopefully the first of many who will receive support from Octodec through this programme.

This initiative is a testament to Octodec’s commitment to its CSR strategy. As a business that regularly monitors and prioritises its social and environmental impact, Octodec aspires to create value beyond financial return.

Aligned to this, Mogalakwena Valuers and Intengo Valuers and Property Consultants were recently inducted into Property Point’s programme, with the intention of empowering these two black-owned property valuation businesses over the medium-to-long term.

The individuals will have the opportunity to grow their businesses to a point where they are able to provide the services required by listed companies, ultimately ensuring their best chance at success.

Octodec recognises that its efforts make a difference in the lives of the people, communities, and areas in which it operates, and are thrilled by the prospect of working with both businesses in the near future.

A strong entrepreneurial ecosystem underpins Octodec’s relationship with its supplier community, across various industries, to stimulate local economies. However, the commercial success of these businesses requires more than good ideas. It requires intensive and accelerated training in the form of improving sales and marketing, business, financial and people management. Octodec has partnered with Property Point to achieve exactly this.

More than half of South Africa’s children continue to live below the poverty line, where poor dietary intake, food insecurity and poor quality of essential services prevail. According to UNICEF South Africa, chronic malnutrition is an underlying cause of half the childhood deaths in SA. Of those that survive, one in three are stunted due to malnutrition. As corporate South Africa, it is our duty to step up and assist.

On Friday, 9 September, JSE-listed REIT, Octodec Investments Limited, visited the ACFS Kagiso centre on the West Rand for the official opening of the NPO’s first vegetable garden where Octodec has provided much needed shade netting and water tanks to help ensure the success of the project.

The team were heartily welcomed with performances by the choir, gumboot dancers and drum majorettes from the youth development programme.

Support provided

This is the third community in which Octodec has assisted in making the food garden more sustainable by providing shade netting and water tanks. 

Caregivers, grandmothers and other volunteers use the food from the communal vegetable gardens to prepare meals for the children. The centre also assists parents in growing their own vegetable gardens so that they can feed their own families.

Malnourished children and even those experiencing short-term hunger have limited capacities to learn. To mitigate this, the ACFS Kagiso Centre supports over 215 children from preschool to Grade 12 per day and reaches over 1200 people from disadvantaged backgrounds in the area.

The Kagiso Centre is also the first centre where Octodec sponsored the youth economic empowerment programme by supplying the necessary equipment and apparel for a band, choir and traditional dance groups, both male and female. The group of 67 girls and 32 boys involved perform and speak at schools in the area to promote and expand the initiative.

The NGO – African Children’s Feeding Scheme (“ACFS”)

As part of Octodec’s socio-economic development programme, they have identified NPOs that support underprivileged families and promote education. ACFS are championing this cause.

Established in 1945, the ACFS is a registered Non-Profit Organisation dedicated to developing and protecting children and their families by focussing on improving access to nutrition, health, early learning and stimulation, and skills development.

The Kagiso Centre is one of the nine community centres providing children with a meal after school and other programmes through the ACFS.

Why Octodec cares

School feeding programmes lead to greater enrolment in schools and improve the ability to learn. By preventing poverty in childhood, we can help prevent the reinforcement of poverty across generations.

As part of Octodec’s vision to ensure a positive impact on its communities and the environment in which it operates, supporting causes like the ACFS helps create a better social fabric for the communities within and around Octodec operating areas.

Global Credit Ratings (GCR) reaffirms Octodec’s A- credit rating with a revised stable outlook

On Wednesday, 22 June 2022 JSE listed REIT Octodec Investments Limited announced that Global Credit Ratings (GCR) had reaffirmed Octodec’s A- credit rating with a revised stable outlook.

Shareholders and noteholders are advised that Global Credit Ratings (“GCR”) has undertaken a credit rating review of Octodec, as guarantor of wholly-owned subsidiary Premium Properties Limited’s Domestic Medium-Term Note Programme dated 23 February 2015. On 21 June 2022, GCR re-affirmed the long-term national scale issuer rating assigned to Octodec of A-(za) and the short-term issuer rating of A2(za), with the outlook revised from Negative to Stable.

This revised outlook is indicative of the improved trading conditions for listed property owners with exposure to defensive sectors such as retail and residential in a post-Covid-19 environment and signals the prevailing positive sentiment for operators in the Tshwane and Johannesburg CBD’s.

GCR’s credit rating announcement is publicly available on GCR’s website at https://gcrratings.com/announcements/gcr-affirms-octodec-investments-limiteds-ratings-of-a-za-a2za-and-revises-the-outlook-to-stable-from-negative/.

Shareholders and noteholders can also contact Elize Greeff at elizeg@octodec.co.za to request an electronic version.

As Corporate South Africa, we can no longer ignore the plight of millions of children who go to bed hungry every night across South Africa.

On 16 August, Octodec, with the help of City Property staff, came together at 012central to pack over 129 000 meals for Rise Against Hunger which will feed 500 children with five meals a week for an entire year!

The Covid-19 pandemic halted many in-person CSI initiatives and operations, so we were excited to finally roll up our sleeves and get back to being part of the solution by packing meals with our partners from Rise Against Hunger.

3.1 million children experience chronic hunger daily which has a devastating effect on brain development. 90% of brain development happens before the age of five, and further one in five South African children under the age of six are developmentally delayed.

Beyond the facts and figures regularly used to explain hunger, understanding the full extent of starvation and malnutrition can be daunting. We applaud the work Rise Against Hunger does to end hunger by empowering communities, nourishing lives and responding to emergencies.

For over five years we have been committed to his project, providing almost 630 000 meals in that time.  The meals are highly nutritious and comprise of rice, soya, dehydrated vegetable mix and fortifying minerals and vitamins, specifically formulated to combat malnutrition – and complies with the UNICEF standard. 

As was done in the past, the meals will be distributed to early childhood development centres across Gauteng through the Rise Against Hunger network. This food drive serves as an imperative reminder of what can be accomplished when Corporate South Africa comes together for the greater good.

The Company signals its commitment to the CBD through multi-faceted enhancements to an already dominant inner-city retail and residential portfolio

JSE listed REIT, Octodec Investments Limited, today announced that it has commenced upgrading its Shoprite building in the heart of the Tshwane CBD, at a cost of just below R60 million. The facelift is a welcome boost to the existing, bustling retail trade in the CBD, and proves renewed confidence in a node which has clearly emerged stronger post the Covid-19 pandemic.

Jeffrey Wapnick, MD of Octodec, says: “With many retailers having returned to the CBD and various in-person university classes resuming, Octodec’s CBD retail assets are experiencing a renewed energy. We are thrilled to announce the news of this project, highlighting that the heart of Tshwane is still thriving and a vibrant place to be.”

The first phase will be a revamp of the 4000m² Shoprite supermarket and includes a new Shoprite Liquor and new retail shops on the ground floor. The most prominent visual element will be a triple volume entrance with escalator access from Helen Joseph Street. The escalators will lead downwards to an OK Furniture store. In addition, the project includes renovations to the Helen Joseph Street façade, including a new modern shopfront.

The second phase of the renovation will cater for more retail tenants on the ground floor and the remainder of the basement space. Negotiations are well underway with prospective tenants. Further upgrades include the pedestrian access point from Madiba Street, which will be upgraded to provide a landscaped walkway for easy access to the Shoprite store.

“We enjoy deep, mutually beneficial relationships with our tenants, who often provide great insights. It is unlikely they would invest in the CBD without a positive outlook. We are seeing these same tenants lease for longer periods which further underpins their confidence in the CBD long-term. Confidence from our tenants and improved market conditions have spearheaded growth within the CBD, which Octodec will certainly benefit from.” concludes Wapnick.

Shoprite will continue to trade during the duration of the upgrade. The project is expected to be completed in December 2022.