March 27 2025 17:00
SOUTH AFRICA
Steven Herring is a stalwart of South African business who has worked in the country’s commercial real estate industry for around three decades. During this time, he employed more than 50 000 people through his companies and created further thousands of indirect jobs. Herring has invested in the South African economy and helped to support a range of communities, many of them underprivileged.
Herring has invested in and developed retail centres, offices, and other properties throughout a rich career, giving people access to high-quality retail centres. He has been involved in the development of and investment in properties across small towns, suburban areas, and townships. These areas include Tsakane, Tembisa and Kempton Park in the east of Gauteng, Phokeng and Itsoseng in the North West Province and Fish Hoek, Sea Point and Athlone in Cape Town. He also developed properties in Siyabuswa in Mpumalanga and Burgersfort in Limpopo. Herring’s team’s work also extends to other areas such as Roodepoort, Helderberg and Sun Valley.
“To understand how our industry has developed we have to go back in time and consider the apprehension people had with respect to building shopping centres in certain parts of South Africa. Twenty to thirty years ago there were numerous no-go-areas. Post Apartheid, certain well-populated areas had been left in a very sorry state. Parts of Johannesburg’s inner city were deemed to be very dangerous after businesses packed up and left. Banks were hesitant to fund developments. It was a difficult industry to enter,” Herring says.
He says that in the early 2000s, large national banks such as Standard Bank and Nedbank were nervous of funding retail centres township and inner-city areas.
But he recognised that these underserviced places had large populations which needed amenities and housed people who deserved a better quality of life. He and his partners saw the long-term value in investing in the areas and their communities. If he could show a major bank that a retail centre would work because it was anchored by the retailers that the people living in that area needed to live better lives, the bank would be convinced and back he and his team.
“We learned project by project that it was possible to build top-class retail centres and other buildings which had the facilities that people desired. It was a trial-and-error process, and it became clear quickly that you needed community buy-in to have any chance of success,” he says.
Herring and his business partners incorporated a company called Heriot in 1998. They began constructing properties in 2000 and accumulating a property portfolio, and in 2017 listed Heriot Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit). A South African Reit is mandated to pay a minimum of 75% of its distributable income as a dividend each year. These dividends are paid to investors in the Reit which include individuals, corporates and charity organisations. Herring and his team were creating a high-level of wealth spread across numerous groups around the country. They brought expert management to their assorted assets and as a landlord, served an assortment of tenants including national retailers such as Shoprite Checkers and Boxer, KFC, and numerous banks.
Over time, Heriot has grown its portfolio through new developments and asset purchases and has also acquired a majority shareholding in Safari Investments, a group which owns rural and semi-urban shopping centres. Safari’s management has been helped by Heriot’s experienced leadership and investment.
The Heriot group is committed to bringing quality developments to rural areas. Safari, for example, owns malls in the likes of Atteridgeville and Mamelodi in Pretoria as well as Sebokeng and Heidelberg.
Heriot’s team is involved across the value chain of each development that it undertakes and each property that it manages. The company employs unskilled workers from the communities where the malls are built, upskilling them to bricklayers and other roles in early construction. It also works with local construction and engineering groups and uses locally sourced building materials. Heriot Reit is an SA citizen, and the group employs local people as mall managers and security, for example, as it focusses on achieving far-reaching growth for the community and not merely profits for itself.
Nevertheless, Heriot Reit has made its name as a well-liked and reliable investment. This is a Reit with investment properties worth R11.6bn. It has its majority 58% holding in Safari Investments as well as a significant stake in diversified group, Texton Property Fund. Texton owns 46 properties worth around R4.5bn combined. These properties are in business districts such as Greenstone, Sunninghill, Sandton, Rivonia, Hyde Park, Bedfordview and Waverley, which are all in Gauteng. It also owns buildings in Loop Street and Wale Street in Cape Town.
Safari owns around R4bn worth of properties, the majority of which are in South Africa. Safari will soon be positioned as a developer which will create numerous jobs and help to sustain livelihoods across South Africa.
“I want Safari to grow its portfolio in under-serviced areas across our country. There are still so many opportunities for rural retail development across South Africa. Many people live on socials grants and low salaries which enable them to buy basics only. They need to have access to decent shopping experiences which any working-class person could enjoy anywhere in the world,” says Herring.
His commitment to South Africa is unwavering as he rolls out for developments in the country, assisting with nation-building.
Siyabuswa Mall
“Property has given me a fulfilling career. Like any job there are good times and tough times, and it requires perseverance and patience. I can ensure you though that I would not have got where I am without the support of so many communities across our country. Our malls would have failed without community buy-in.,” he says.
“We recognised that these communities are our customers. So, if they wanted a taxi rank, we gave them one for free and then these people would use our nearby mall,” Herring says.
Taxi ranks have been built in Tembisa and Tsakane for example. The group will continue to work with surrounding communities when developing for them.
“People are often trained on site. They become brick layers for example, and learn more and more skills on the job. Also, we take steps to integrate people selling things in the area into the mall. We have upgraded hawkers’ skills and given them small shops which improves their profitability tremendously,” Herring says.
Because the malls have involved the communities from the beginning, trust has been earned over years.
“I think it’s notable that when there were the riots and social unrest in SA in 2021, our centres were untouched. Yes, we had good security in place, but we noted that our communities believed in our centres. They believe in them and take ownership of them. These malls are part of their lives. This is why our mall in Thembisa was not burned or damaged in any way, unlike a rival mall down the road,” says Herring.
Heriot also supports local schools and sporting initiatives among other charity drives for the communities nearby its malls.
“You never know when supporting communities will pay off but it’s in our interests to do so. We invest in a wholistic approach to our developments. During the pandemic, we provided free food for people near our centres. There were queues which kilometres long and people would queue for hours to get their daily nourishment. These things add to goodwill which is created and maintained over time,” Herring says.
Heriot’s commitment to building malls has spanned years and years. In this time, Heriot has constructed retail centres sized between 20 000 and 40 000 square metres. The group’s beginnings in Johannesburg soon spread nationwide. Today its centres are world-class and are all kitted out with backup power and water systems. This enables people to access their work and studies when their homes are suffering power blackouts. Locals are employed at the retail centres and each centre has a local centre manager.
“We believe in our communities. We believe in places like Atteridgeville, Mamelodi and Shoshanguwe. It is our responsibility as a corporate citizen to help develop this country and give back to its people, especially the needy and underprivileged,” says Herring.
As SA’s economy gains momentum amid a lower interest rate environment with a stronger government in place than has been the case for many years, Heriot will roll out numerous development schemes.
“Banks will support us as long as we deliver a world-class product to numerous South Africans,” says Herring.
“We have stayed in SA and will continue to do so as we build for the people of SA. These communities own their centres, while we own the title deed,” he says.
Burgersfort Mall
Heriot is a committed landlord with strong investment history during which it has been dedicated to South Africa and numerous communities. Since listing in 2017, Heriot Reit has grown every year from having a net asset value per share (NAVPS) of R10 to one around R18.
Herring is also part of group which owns R3.5bn worth of offices previously owned by Rebosis Property Fund. Under his stewardship, these offices have been improved tremendously and are attracting strong government and other tenants who sign long leases.
“We have ensured that there are working lifts, proper fire escapes and safety certificates in place. We are excited to be able to turn these buildings around. The portfolio is spread across Pretoria and Johannesburg with some KwaZulu-Natal exposure. We have been busy for about eight months ensuring these offices excel. They will employ numerous people and support many others,” says Herring.
Herring has also developed student housing as he has diversified his projects. He built 400 student housing units which created 1500 direct construction and management jobs and another 500 jobs to be used for the accommodation’s operations.
Heriot Investments, which is the majority shareholder in Heriot Reit, is 100% owned by The Gusi Trust. This trust is Herring’s family trust which contributes to the financial and social ecosystems of the communities that Herring invests in. He has provided employment opportunities, social relief during disaster events, sponsorships, bursaries, support for sports teams and other educational support.
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