British American Tobacco to sell Paarl Assets

The cigarette giant decided to consolidate all its manufacturing and operational activities to their Heidelberg plant in Gauteng. The hammer will fall on a massive site belonging to British American Tobacco (BAT) in the Boland town of Paarl. According to Jonathan Smiedt, CEO of the ClareMart Auction Group, who will be conducting the auction, his Group recently received instruction from BAT to submit the property to public auction. "We are privileged to announce that BAT mandated our Group to sell this massive facility" says Smiedt. The more than 5 Hectare property, which borders on the Berg River will be sold to the highest bidder on Tuesday 8 June.

Describing the site as a "rare find" Smiedt explains that the property falls within the CBD of Paarl; "It is not often that a massive footprint within an urban node comes on the market, this is a rare opportunity to develop more than 5 Hectares of land within the already developed urban zone" says Smiedt.

A spokesperson for BAT, confirms that the cigarette giant decided to consolidate all its manufacturing and operational activities to their Heidelberg plant in Gauteng. All activities ceased at the Paarl plant at the end of 2007, resulting in the properties being put up for auction.

The property comprises of prime river facing industrial zoned land with improvements and is bordered by three roads. It is located in the Eastern side of the Paarl CBD, an area seeing many new retail and residential developments. Its prominent position on the corner of Lady Grey and Berg River Streets makes it a landmark site with excellent exposure to passing traffic. The property is ideally located in the vicinity of the Paarl Mall and several new upmarket residential developments. "The site is ideal for redevelopment and the Council have indicated that applications for mix-use residential and commercial redevelopments will be seriously considered. The scope for developers creating a new lifestyle development which takes advantage of the Berg River frontage and its central location will be a favourable factor for an investor" says Smiedt.

The Rembrandt Tobacco Corporation established in 1948 by the late Dr Anton Rupert, obtained the land along the Berg River and a modern cigarette and tobacco manufacturing plant was established over the decades. This plant was ahead of its time and the first manufacturing machines of long filter cigarettes were installed at the Rembrandt Group factory in Paarl in 1952, making it the most state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in the world at that time. The plant has been relocated to Heidelberg in Gauteng.

The current property offers an industrial zoning, with 75% coverage and offers a height restriction of six storeys. The building line runs at 4.5 meters along the Berg River and Dorp Streets on the present erf.

The main factory building comprises administrative offices, the core of the processing plant and certain auxiliary services. The 2773m² administrative offices are primarily partitioned, mostly consisting of drywalls. This ensures flexibility and the ability to adapt the area to comply with current industry standards. "Any new owner will be able to knockdown drywalling and create office space that works for them" says Smiedt.

A large 3463m² open plan packing factory is one of the original warehouses and is in a good condition. A key feature of this area is the extensive internal ceiling / cladding and other ‘cosmetic' improvements made by BAT, as well as the ample air-reticulation and extraction equipment. "As a result, power supply to this area as with the entire property, is well above normal criteria for typical industrial buildings," adds Smiedt.

The 4571m² open plan cutting area is similar to the packing factory but includes ablution facilities as well as secondary office accommodation. A 140m² staff entrance and security area is located in a renovated Victorian dwelling situated next to the main entrance gate.

The 6945m² double storey production factory is more modern than the rest of the buildings on site. The ground floor area currently occupies most of the technical maintenance departments which includes numerous workshops, storage areas and offices. The upper floor is used for production, and is a large open plan area fitted with relevant equipment. Vehicle access to this level is made possible with a ramp. The entire site is fenced in with electrified security fencing and access to this section is restricted to three points.

Approximately 15 000m² of land is dedicated to sport and recreational facilities and currently comprises three identical residential dwellings, a staff recreational complex and shaded parking areas. According to Smiedt rezoning to potentially high density residential should not be discarded, "The property is situated next to a residential area and has a large river frontage that could be exploited, but the buyer should also consider the fact that this property has industrial electricity supply and can be operational within a very short period of time," adds Smiedt.

Included in the auction, are two property across the road at 43 and 45 Synagogue Street, which are located on the corner of Berg River Street. The property consists of two virtually identical, semi-detached single storey houses. These properties were utilised as staff quarters for the Rembrandt Group.

"We have already had interest from two consortiums which we received after being mandated and we are expecting local and international interest at the auction" says Smiedt. Those interested in viewing these properties may do so by appointment.

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