It’s Women’s Month in South Africa and we’re excited to see so many of our project managers (PMs) being promoted – including some remarkable women.

As Profica continues to grow and expand throughout Africa we’re focused on developing our leadership across the continent.

The Profica team is at the Johannesburg Children’s Home in Houghton today lending a hand with much needed gardening, painting, building and repairs.

When extensive renovations were planned for Umhlanga's popular shopping centre, Gateway Theatre of Shopping, it was acknowledged that this would be a significant undertaking.  Undoubtedly it was to be one of the largest alterations, additions, and refurbishments of an active shopping centre in South Africa and certainly the largest ever in Kwa-Zulu Natal. The Client, Old Mutual Properties, turned to Profica to provide principal-agent, project management, and tenant coordination services on the project.  No stranger to Old Mutual, Profica has worked with the company on numerous occasions, including an appointment on the major development of their iconic head office in the heart of Sandton.

Beukes van Heerden, Head of Capital Projects for SADC at award-winning property and construction solutions company, Profica, considers refurbishments and new developments in South Africa’s challenging office market.

It has been predicted this year that among South Africa’s three major commercial segments, office space will be the biggest loser.  With a stubbornly high vacancy rate that sees Johannesburg at its highest peak since 2010 at nearly 13%, this is unsurprising given that offices are largely driven by economic growth.  Despite these high vacancies, new development activity continues in certain nodes in Johannesburg, with reports anticipating that around 106,420m² of space will come onto the market in high-end nodes during this year and into next.  Added to this is a flurry of refurbishments and renovations.  Between the often-conflicting needs of property developers and owners, what does the market need?