6 major shopping malls in South Africa sold in R2 billion deal

·7 Jul 2025

Six major shopping malls in South Africa have been transferred to Eynuka Property Holdings in a R2 billion transaction that instantly doubled the value of the fund’s portfolio.

Enyuka is an unlisted community retail fund co-owned by ONE Property Holdings, Mpande Property Fund and Trinitas Private Equity.

The retail centres were previously held by ONE Eighty Holdings, an unlisted vehicle in the ONE Property group.

To enable the transaction, R2.1 billion in debt financing was arranged from a syndicate of financial institutions comprising Nedbank, RMB, Futuregrowth, Absa and Taquanta Asset Managers.

The value of the fund’s portfolio doubled in the deal. The Enyuka portfolio now features 28 retail centres valued at R3.5 billion, from R1.8 billion before.

Post-transaction, it is now one of the biggest unlisted retail real estate funds in the country—a position it hopes to grow.

Enyuka said that the transaction forms part of its wider strategy to strengthen the fund to become a much bigger player in the retail sector.

Included in the transfer is the 34,000 square metre Southdale Shopping Centre, one of the oldest retail centres in Johannesburg.

The mall was built in 1969 and has seen significant investment from ONE Eighty, including a R70 million-plus refurbishment in the early 2010s.

For context, the Musgrave Centre in Durban is widely considered to be the older mall in South Africa, constructed in the late 1950s.

The Southdale Shopping Centre is the largest of the six malls in the transaction, but none are smaller than 13,000 square metres, making them sizeable and prominent retail centres.

Only one centre is outside of Gauteng, which is the Heritage Mall in Kathu, Northern Cape.

The six malls that were transferred include:

Mall	Size	Location
Southdale Shopping Centre	34,000 sqm	Southdale, Gauteng
Kempton Square	17,000 sqm	Kempton Park, Gauteng
Northmead Mall	13,900 sqm	Benoni, Gauteng
Sasolburg Mall*	13,700 sqm	Sasolburg, Gauteng
Vaalgate Shopping Centre	13,600 sqm	Vandebijlpark, Gauteng
Heritage Mall	13,100 sqm	Kathu, Northern Cape

*50% undivided share

Enyuka said all the properties are stable, income-generating centres located in high-footfall areas, with loyal customer bases. The groups did not want to disclose the value of each individual mall.

In preparation for the transfer, and as part of ongoing asset management, ONE Property has already invested in mall upgrades and modernisation.

These upgrades include revitalising the tenant mix at the malls and installing solar photovoltaic installations at approximately two-thirds of all its centres.

To address other infrastructure issues that have affected all kinds of businesses and centres, the group is also upgrading and working on its water sustainability, including boreholes and treated water collection points.

The water services will provide clean drinking water to the surrounding communities through collection points at selected centres.

Group CEO of ONE Property Holdings, Chris van Reenen, said the fund will coninue to focus on investment-grade and grocery-led community retail centres that serve value markets and peri-urban areas.

“The centres within the fund have been curated with this in mind, offering a blend of national retailers, local businesses and essential service providers,” the group said.

These retail centres have grown significantly in popularity over the past few years since the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns pushed shoppers from larger regional centres to more localised convenience centres.

There has also been a surge in new, smaller retail centres cropping up in rural and remote areas, where communities have historically been underserved.

Looking ahead, Enyuka is expected to continue its growth trajectory and is in the market to purchase additional select shopping centres which fit into its acquisition strategy.