Despite political uncertainty, Cape Town's office rental market thrives

Source: Supplied. Aerial view of the new Cape Town Collective.

According to findings in the latest Rodes Report from property economists Rode & Associates, the Mother City continues to be the best-performing office rental market in the country, a status it has held since 2022.

Despite years of load shedding and the impact of the pandemic, office rentals in Cape Town were 6% higher at the end of last year compared to 2019.

The boom is driven mainly by Cape Town’s success in service delivery and electricity supply, as well as the resurgence of tourism. These factors have led investors from other provinces to relocate their businesses and families to the city. At the same time, multinational companies have also seen the value of Cape Town as a burgeoning new investment and business-friendly destination.

The influx of visitors and investors into the Cape Town residential property market has increased the demand for office space substantially. The reasons include Cape Town’s population growth, with more residents requiring office space and services. Another contributing factor has been the relative decline of commercial stock within the Cape Town CBD due to large-scale residential conversions of existing office buildings over the past decade.

This has led to tenants frantically competing for available office space and too often unable to secure premises.

But now, thanks to serviced office space specialist Cape Town Collective (CTC), there is a solution that is tailor-made for modern businesses and falls well within their respective rental budgets.

On Monday, 15 July 2024, CTC will launch a new collective workspace at the prestigious Wale Street Chambers building in the CBD that is ideally suited to small to medium-sized enterprises and businesses looking to upscale, including entrepreneurs and start-ups.

Without question, this is no ordinary co-working option.

Here, tenants will find works by world-renowned artists on display in all offices and common areas, open-air courtyards with access to a barista café and pause area, and an online portal that conveniently manages their entire work experience.

“Our collective workspace is where business, technology and art intersect,” explains Jeffrey John Kleu, investor and developer for the Klarey Property Group.

“We offer dedicated private offices – comprising one to 16 desks – with shared facilities, including full-house video conferencing, boardrooms and meeting rooms. These are complemented by a full suite of tech services, including a 1 000mbps dedicated fibre line, high-tech security with facial recognition access control, high-volume printing, Voip and call-answering services, all controlled by a CRM app on your phone.”

Fully furnished, serviced offices

In addition, an electricity charge is included, and backup power is provided for all offices and services. Custom desks with ergonomic office chairs are another outstanding feature.

There is even a putting green for those who like to “work on their game” during downtime periods.

In short, tenants walk into a fully furnished and serviced office with a receptionist greeting their visitors and fielding their calls, board rooms, printing facilities, high-speed internet, messenger services, a coffee shop and a slow lounge to mingle and socialise with colleagues. This takes the “hassle“ out of locating and organising all of this themselves and allows them to concentrate on their business.

In terms of pricing, CTC has made affordability its top priority. Private offices start from as little as R7,000 a month, while an eight-person office comes in at R20,000 monthly.

The Collective also recognises that remote work is part of everyday business operations and has responded accordingly by establishing a “virtual office/address” offering.

“Remote workers can lease CTC’s physical infrastructure as and when needed,” Kleu says.

“Our Professional (R955/pm), Global (R1,495/pm) and Executive (R1,995/pm) virtual office/address packages offer a variety of options. A Professional package, for example, provides the user with a prestigious business address, a dedicated telephone line with a call/message handling service, and a base where documents or packages can be received.

“At the other end of the scale, our Executive package also includes access to our business lounge, discounted rates for boardrooms and meeting rooms, and eight free boardroom/meeting room hours per month.”

Yet CTC has taken its offering even further with its “pay as you use” option. For example, full-day hot desks can be secured for only R280, while half-day use of a boardroom starts from R1,650.

“It’s no secret that office space in Cape Town is in extremely high demand, and CTC is meeting that demand at the Wale Street building,” Kleu says.

“The nature of the working environment has changed radically since the pandemic, and CTC has kept pace with these changes by offering solutions for all kinds of businesses, whether they follow the in-office, hybrid or remote working model.”