Gustav Thiel
BUSINESS is moving – to Cape Town. To establish just how many companies are setting up shop in the Western Cape, and why, Wesgro, the parastatal established in 1986 to promote investment in the region, this week called for a detailed analysis of the trend.
Wesgro urban and regional planner Rae Wolpe told the Mail & Guardian it would be vital for the economy of the province to establish the exact number of businesses relocating.
It would also be important to gauge the reasons for the recent spate of relocations, he said.
Said Wolpe: “It is quite obviously an increasing trend for businesses of various natures to relocate to the city and we are busy looking into the possibility of doing a thorough research into this.
“We recently held a workshop with investors where various issues related to the economic future of the province were discussed.
“What we found is that investor interest in the province is huge and originates from all corners of South Africa as well as internationally,” said Wolpe.
In addition, keen investor interest in secondary towns outside Cape Town was noted during the workshop.
“Towns like Stellenbosch, Paarl and Worcester seems to be particularly attractive for investors because of their rural atmosphere and close proximity to Cape Town,” said Wolpe.
Investment consultant Theo Aspeling agrees that Stellenbosch and Paarl will attract “an avalanche” of investments in the near future.
He warns, however, that this would need to be controlled and that a study of business relocation to the Western Cape and an analysis of the nature of future investor interest was necessary to curb this.
According to Pam Golding Estates managing director Andrew Golding, “the increase in interest from the business sector has led to an increase in demand for residential properties”.
This, he said, stimulated both property markets, in turn boosting the price indices.
Adds Ronald Ennick of Pam Golding: “Prices in Cape Town for both residential and office property in similar areas are between 20 and 30% higher than in Johannesburg.
“People are keen to move to the Cape for a number of reasons, including business relocation and the perception that it is a safe environment to raise a family.
“We are experiencing a monthly increase of 16% in the number of properties sold to people from Johannesburg.
“But we expect that interest in properties in Johannesburg will increase towards the end of the year when bargains become available,” said Ennick.
Bill Rawson Estates’ managing director Bill Rawson said inquiries for business properties came from all the major centres in the country.
“It is now an established fact that the major migration of businesses is to the Cape, but it will be difficult to establish the exact numbers relocating.”