Insurance giant Mutual & Federal has signed on as anchor tenant of another successful development by MELKi at Durban’s Westway Office Park.  

The development on Lot 3737 was the last remaining site in Westway, and the prime space allowed MELKi to conclude this transaction with the blue chip tenant. The Mutual & Federal development is the fourth for MELKi within the prestigious park in Westville.

The deal followed negotiations with Thiru Govender, chief executive of MELKi, and development manager, Kevin Goncalves, who finalised the signing of Mutual & Federal’s 10-year lease agreement.

“With Mutual & Federal on board, Westway Office Park is proving to be an excellent investment for us.  

“It was anticipated that the commercial property market would be negatively affected by the recent spate of interest rate hikes leading to a slowdown in the demand for office space.  

"Instead there has been an increase in the demand for rentals and a scarcity of available A-grade space,” said Govender.  

“We are very pleased to have secured these impressive premises. It provides us with a wonderful opportunity to consolidate our operations in the greater Durban area and will allow us to focus on delivering even better service to our policyholders in the future, while providing our staff with a great working environment." said Gary Benton, spokesperson for Mutual & Federal.

The completion of MELKi’s 5 000 m2 building this month, allows Mutual & Federal to consolidate its two regional offices in Durban and Pinetown under one roof.

Mutual & Federal will occupy 80% of the development at Westway, while the balance has been leased to British American Tobacco South Africa.  

“This is an exciting time for MELKi, and the favourable conditions of the property market are a plus,” said Leslie Hermans, group chief operating officer of Hermans & Roman, who currently manages R150-million of MELKi’s portfolio.  

“We’ve known Thiru Govender and his team for many years and are incredibly proud of our business partner’s growth.”  

The MELKi group has realigned its focus, shedding its non-core businesses and focusing on the renewed challenges presented on the continent.  Its strategic direction will focus on mining, property development and joint ventures in civils and building construction. Recently, MELKi has been the lowest on a R2.2 billion project in partnership with Sino Hydro of China, who are the fifth largest construction company in the world.

Ends

Hermans & Roman Property Solutions is an independent wholly black owned property management company operating nationally in South Africa. The company, founded five years ago by property experts Leslie Hermans and Kevin Roman, manages assets worth more than R6 billion for private and listed sector clients and in excess of R7 billion for the public sector.

Issued by: HWB Communications

On behalf of: Hermans & Roman Property Solutions

Contact: Kevin Roman, group CEO

Tel:  021 918 9500

Cell: 082 552 9519

Email: info@herom.co.za

Web: www.herom.co.za

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