South Africa’s largest primary JSE-listed real estate investment trust (REIT), Growthpoint Properties, has added its substantial portfolio of retail properties to the Clur Collective asset management support platform and integral shopping centre index. By sharing its significant data set, Growthpoint is supporting the retail property sector to create better shopping centre experiences for consumers and retailers alike, while simultaneously enhancing its own innovative and sustainable property solutions.

“Growthpoint’s inclusion is a milestone for our index and further enhances its standing as a leading independent industry standard and economic indicator,” says Belinda Clur, founder and managing director of Clur International. “It serves as a measure of consumer sentiment, rental and economic activity since what people spend today reflects later in GDP and other key data.”

“Our representation across the retail property landscape is now more than 5.4 million square metres across over 130 shopping centres in South Africa and Namibia. The increase is from 4.1 million square metres at over 100 centres.

“In addition to Growthpoint, the dominant funds participating in the Clur Collective and Clur Indices include Attacq Limited, Hyprop Investments Limited, Liberty Two Degrees, Old Mutual Property, Pareto Limited, REimagine Social Impact Retail Fund, SA Corporate Real Estate Limited, Sanlam Life Insurance Limited and Vukile Property Fund.

“Our fund universe now includes leading Growthpoint retail destinations in major metropoles such as The Constantia Village, La Lucia Mall, Greenacres Shopping Centre, Waterfall Mall, Brooklyn Mall and Festival Mall. Other leading properties belonging to other funds include Sandton City, Eastgate Shopping Centre, Mall of Africa, Menlyn Park Shopping Centre, Gateway Theatre of Shopping, Canal Walk, Cavendish Square, Durbanville Village Square, KwaMashu Shopping Centre, Piet Retief Shopping Centre and Musgrave Centre.”

Belinda Clur, founder and managing director of Clur International.

Gavin Jones, Growthpoint head of asset management: Retail.

Gavin Jones, Growthpoint head of asset management: Retail, says the Clur platform serves a crucial industry need by promoting a proactive management approach.

“In essence, it guides strategy and helps optimise returns through a closer understanding of fund positioning and asset health. It is widely regarded as a fast, accurate, visual translation of information geared to prevent blind spots and quickly point to strengths, risks and solutions through ongoing monitoring.

“Moreover, it is known for providing users with a leading indicator of market movements, before broader economic and sector data is released. It provides insights into performance across 140 merchandise categories and in centres of varying size formats in different locations. It has standardised the industry so that we can compare apples with apples.

“Ultimately, it enables us to enhance the overall experience at our shopping centres for both consumers and tenants. It equips us better to tailor innovations and solutions for stakeholders and to drive business sustainability.”

Amelia Beattie, chief executive of Liberty Two Degrees and an early driver of the Clur platform, says: “The current economic downturn and the dynamic nature of the sector have sharpened fund managers’ focus on up-to-date performance tracking and on active asset management techniques. While there is a slowing in the growth of trading density across the industry, the L2D portfolio trading density remains well ahead of the benchmark. This is attributed to the quality of the assets held within the L2D portfolio in conjunction with innovative and relevant asset management.”

Clur says that even in the current tough market conditions, the South African retail sector has much to teach the world. “We have world-class forward-thinking shopping centres, retailers, designers and asset managers. They have shown their mettle in turbulent times.”
She describes the current commercial environment as a “Kinstsugi economy”, after the Japanese art of mending broken pottery with gold.

“Conditions today may be thought of as a Kintsugi economy, full of cracks and imperfections, severely aggravated by economic pressures and the lingering impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is a time where we need to build on the Japanese masters’ belief that broken pieces hold value, experience and rich substance. Rather than casting these aside, we should recognise their significance and mend them through creativity, care and sound decisions.
“To contribute to that process and to even more proactive management, we have recently launched additional indices for Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape and for luxury brands.”

A partnership approach with funds and drawing on her 26-year experience in international retail, property and pioneering initiatives for retail benchmarking have tailored the Clur Collective into a purpose-built highly strategic asset management support platform, she says.

“The platform has grown to serve users through providing ‘battle tools’ and targeted recommendations informing investment decisions, performance management, leasing negotiations, sales, rental and space optimization, tenant and product mix and financial, marketing and acquisitions/disposals strategies. All areas of underperformance, performance and risk are identified through interpretive reporting and sophisticated proprietary methodologies that deliver crucial information at one’s fingertips.”

Clur says topping 5 million square metres in the fund universe was a special high-water mark for her and her team.
“For me personally it is enormously fulfilling to have achieved this level of endorsement from the industry since I started and self-funded the business. The entrepreneurial journey makes you face your demons and strengths, but it is very rewarding to see something you’ve started from nothing succeed. It eats your life though, so you need to be careful about balance, a current key consumer theme.”

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