A cold storage and distribution centre in Johannesburg’s City Deep belonging to food and beverages group, Clover has been sold to a private investor for R52.5m.
Sean Berowsky, director of capital markets, Cape Town at Cushman & Wakefield Broll, said the facility, located on a stand of 4.5 hectares, was sold by way of private treaty to a private Durban investor, who “will lease the premises out to a cold storage operator”.
The main warehouse has storage capacity for more than 8 000 pallets, 15 receiving bays and 11 dispatch bays, as well as weighbridges, a fuel depot, and an ammonia refrigeration plant.
Distribution facilities are in heavy demand as more people order goods online.
“We achieved a very good price – the huge amount of land which forms part of the site is attractive in terms of a potential future redevelopment, and could see the entire site getting a new lease on life. This facility is in a prime logistics node, close to main arterials,” Berowsky said.
City Deep is an industrial suburb of Johannesburg and is Africa’s largest dry port. The container terminal is connected to the Port of Durban, Port of Ngqura, Port of Cape Town, as well as Southern Africa by road and rail.
The sale of the City Deep warehouse follows a sale in 2021 of Clover’s R50m Bellville, Western Cape facility, which was also concluded by private treaty by Cushman & Wakefield Broll to a private buyer.
“We have an established relationship with Clover and are pleased to have concluded both of these transactions in a very competitive market for well-maintained quality buildings on their behalf,” Berowsky said.