About Us – Property Investment Services

WHO WE ARE

Grit is a leading, London-listed pan-African impact real estate investor and solutions provider. We invest in and actively manage a diverse portfolio of assets underpinned by mainly US dollar and Euro denominated long-term lease with high-quality multi-national tenants.

We leverage our deep African real estate insights and in-country expertise to offer unique real estate solutions in property development, asset and property management as well as selected co-investment opportunities for qualifying counterparties.

Through our family of partnerships, we find opportunities to drive positive social and environmental change that transcend buildings to the benefit all current stakeholders and generations to come.

OUR SUBSIDIARIES

Grit co-founded its development subsidiary GREA, formerly Gateway Real Estate Africa, in 2018. GREA was founded to focus on providing turnkey development and construction real estate solutions in select African countries for multinational and Africa-based companies and supranational institutions and targets internal rates of returns in excess of 16 per cent.

GREA does not develop speculatively but aligns with specific tenant requirements and therefore does not hold land bank or other speculative investments. Development risk is materially transferred to professional construction partners through fixed price or turnkey contracts and therefore GREA largely only retains timing and final delivery risks.

The company conducts elaborate social and environmental impact assessment studies prior to commencing with construction and works with the community to ensure job creation, gender equality and skills transfer.

Africa Property Development Managers (APDM) provides the full management of GREA and carries the full operating costs of GREA’s operations, which is compensated through ongoing development management and asset management fees.

APDM also provides development and asset management services to a range of third-party clients and joint venture partners and is expected to generate significant additional fee income for the Grit Group into the future.

GRES incorporates three pillars of Africa real estate expertise and experience in Asset Management & Leasing, Property Management and Facilities & Sustainability Management.

GRES enables Grit to go beyond buildings and provide an integrated approach to the real estate revenue cycle with a full understanding of the role of all stakeholders. By combining the services for landlords, tenants and investors, we are able to ensure a sustainable, long-term real estate solution and revenue generating outcome for all parties.

GRES’ knowledge of African real estate, its footprint in Africa as well as its first-hand experience in multi-currency processing and reporting provide a tangible benefit to clients, and is further augmented by its expertise in integrated real estate solutions.

AT A GLANCE

employees representing 15 nationalities

countries of operation

Assets

US$ 0

million – total income producing assets

+ 0 %

EPRA occupancy rate

OUR STRATEGY

Our business model unlocks value for all stakeholders, including the people of Africa and is founded on the following core principles:

Deep local and international relationships resulting in consistent delivery
Strong tenants comprising mostly blue-chip multinationals with lease contracts backed by guarantees
Hard currency leases comprising US$ and Euro income underpinning revenue on long-term leases
Expansive sectoral (8 asset classes) and geographical (North, East, West and SADC) diversification in the portfolio
Strong sustainability pillars with clearly defined targets

This is underpinned by impact investing through our core activities which include:

Property investment in completed, income producing assets
Risk mitigated, client-led developments
Co-investment and special property platforms
Smart solutions and Real Estate, Asset and Development Management Services on behalf of third parties
Working with the communities in which we operate through skills transfer, local procurement and job creation, including gender equality in the build environment
Monitoring and reporting on activities against environmental and social performance targets, including a pathway to net zero emissions, reduced water consumption and social initiatives that make a real and lasting impact on the communities in which we serve.

OUR PEOPLE

FOUNDER

BOARD

C-SUITE

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATIONS

SENIOR LEADERS

FOUNDER

Bronwyn Knight

Executive Director
Chief Executive Officer

Bronwyn is the CEO and a founding member of Grit. She is a Chartered Accountant and has served on several property company boards. Under Bronwyn’s leadership, Grit has grown its portfolio from two assets valued at US$140m at listing to 53 income producing assets and investments valued at c.US$856.7m as at 30 June 2022. She spearheaded the optimisation of Grit’s capital structure, which culminated in a step-up to a Premium listing on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.

Greg Pearson

Chief Executive Officer GREA

Greg is a founder member of Grit Real Estate Income Group and has been instrumental in sustaining its rapid growth since inception in 2014. As Founder of Grit, Greg recognised the significant demand from multinational companies looking for quality real estate solutions in Africa and the limited supply of experienced developers to fulfil their requirements. This led to the creation of Gateway Delta Development Holdings Ltd as a development company of which Greg is a co-founder.

With his extensive track record and successful delivery of developments on the continent, Greg will be able to further these development opportunities in his new role. His relationships with key global players looking for Real Estate solutions on the continent will place the development business as the go to in the real estate market on the African continent.

BOARD

Bronwyn Knight

Executive Director
Chief Executive Officer

Appointed to the board: 12 May 2014

Appointed to position: 12 May 2014

Other listed directorships: 1 (Letlole La Rona Limited)

Committees: Member of the Investment Committee

Residency: United Arab Emirates

Leon van de Moortele

Executive Director
Chief Finance Officer

Appointed to the board: 30 Jun 2015

Appointed to position: 1 Apr 2015

Leon is a Chartered Accountant and holds an Honours Degree in Accounting Science. Prior to joining Grit, Leon served as the Group Finance Director for an aviation group since 2004, where he gained significant financial and commercial experience across eight African countries, including Mozambique, Ghana, Kenya, Algeria, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Tanzania and Gabon. He continues to utilise his tax structuring knowledge and experience in operating in Africa to expand the asset base of the Group.

Other listed directorships: None

Committees: None (Permanent Invitee to Risk Committee)

Residency: Mauritius

Peter Todd

Independent Non-Executive Director
Chairman to the Board

Appointed to the board: 14 Aug 2014

Appointed to position: 12 Apr 2018

Peter is a qualified attorney and a founder of Osiris Group in the British Virgin Islands and Mauritius which provides international corporate finance and administrative services to global clients. He has significant understanding of the property industry in the UK, South Africa and the rest of Africa.

Other listed directorships: None

Committees: Chairman of the Investment and Nomination Committees. Member of the Remuneration Committee

Residency: Mauritius

David Love

Independent Non-Executive Director
Senior Independent Director

Appointed to the board: 4 Dec 2018

Appointed to position: 4 Aug 2020

David is a Fellow Chartered Accountant and holds a BCom and LLB (Hons First) in Land Law, Equity and Trusts. He has over 21 years’ experience in the real estate investment sector. David has been instrumental in the completion of several high-profile real estate transactions including IPOs and the formation of a £1.4 bn UK Property Authorised Investment Fund. He currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer and Compliance Officer of Knight Frank Investment Management.

Other listed directorships: 1 (Paradise Hospitality Group Limited)

Committees: Chairman of the Responsible Business Committee. Member of the Audit, Risk, Nomination and Investment Committees

Residency: United Kingdom

Catherine McIlraith

Independent Non-Executive Director

Appointed to the board: 24 Nov 2017

Catherine has been a Chartered Accountant since 1992. She has held senior banking and corporate finance positions including at BoE NatWest and BoE Merchant Bank in Johannesburg, before joining Investec Bank Mauritius where she was Head of Banking until 2010.
She has been a member of the Financial Reporting Council and is a Fellow Member of the Mauritius Institute of Directors.

Other listed directorships: 6 (Astoria Investments Limited, CIEL Limited, Les Gaz Industriels Ltd, MUA Limited, the Mauritius Union Assurance Company Limited, Paradise Hospitality Group Limited, Phoenix Beverage Limited)

Committees: Chairman of the Audit and Remuneration Committees. Member of the Nomination, Risk and Responsible Business Committees

Residency: Mauritius

C-SUITE

Bronwyn Knight

Executive Director
Chief Executive Officer

Leon van de Moortele

Executive Director
Chief Finance Officer

Greg Pearson

Chief Executive Officer GREA

Krish Kistnen

Chief Financial Officer GREA

Krish has more than 10 years’ financial accounting experience, 3 years of which are specific to the real estate industry. He was the managing director of Southern View Finance Mauritius, a company which specialized in credit risk assessment for micro lending in South Africa, where he was responsible for implementing the corporate financial strategy and policy.
He serviced the following blue-chip clients such as Mauritius Commercial Bank Ltd, Development Bank of Mauritius Ltd, Forges Tardieu Ltd, Airports of Mauritius Ltd, Motorite Insurance Administrators, Ogilvy Africa BV and Quirk South Africa has seen him gaining valuable and varied accounting and financial experience.

Oteng Keabetswe

Chief Investment Officer – Strategic Investments Grit

Oteng is a dynamic and highly motivated Investment Professional with extensive experience in leading Debt, Mezzanine and Private Equity investments on behalf of institutions. Currently employed by Grit Real Estate Income Group as Chief Investment Officer, overseeing the investment function and being the custodian of the group’s investment strategy, policies and procedures.
Oteng is qualified as a Global Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA, CGMA) and has a BA (Hon) in Finance, Accounting & Management from the University of Nottingham. Oteng currently serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director on the board of Coca Cola Beverages Botswana (Pty) Ltd.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Moira van der Westhuizen

Head of Responsible Business, Grit

Moira is the Head of Responsible Business at Grit. She holds a BCom Hons degree and is a qualified Chartered Accountant, with more than two decades experience in finance, business and auditing.
Moira joined Grit in May 2016 and has played a significant role in growing the business to where it is today. She has held a number of management positions at Grit as her role evolved, with her recently taking on the position of Head of Responsible Business, where she leads and manages Risk, Compliance, Legal, Internal Audit and ESG/Sustainability.

She is a strong advocate for women and animal rights and the founder of the Mauritian NGO, All Life Matters Animal Sanctuary, which operates an animal sanctuary and a veterinary clinic.

Aurelie Mallac

Head of Human Capital, Grit

Aurélie has dedicated over a decade to a successful career in the field of human resources, showcasing her expertise in developing and overseeing HR functions across various sectors. She joined Grit in 2019, bringing her wealth of experience and knowledge in Africa to contribute to the company’s HR initiatives and strategies. Prior to her role at Grit, Aurélie held the position of HR Group Leader at Lonrho Limited for four years, where she played a pivotal role in establishing a robust and dynamic centralized HR function across 14 countries in Africa. She also spent seven years as HR Manager in a Mauritian manufacturing and beverage distribution company. She holds a Bachelor of Social Science in Labour, Organisation Psychology and Human Resource Management from the University of Cape Town.

Shevira Bissessor

Chief Operations Officer GREA

Shevira joined Gateway Real Estate Africa in July 2019 working closely with the Chief Executive Officer to identify and capitalise on long-term opportunities that support sustainable business growth. She provides leadership & oversight on development of real estate projects and construction management while maintaining control of the diverse business.

She is also involved in strategic business development; project finance & execution; feasibility studies; operational support; internal control governance and risk mitigation oversight.

She is an assessor on the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors board, a member of the South African Council for Quantity Surveying Profession and the Association for South African Quantity Surveyors.

Having distinguished herself at a very young age in a male dominated industry, she is passionate about mentoring the next generation of talented women to reach the top of their chosen fields.

Leigh-Anne Varrie

Head of Marketing, Grit

Leigh-Anne is a highly accomplished professional with over 20 years’ experience in media and marketing. As the Head of Marketing at Grit, she brings extensive expertise and a dynamic leadership style to her role. In 2009, Leigh-Anne founded her own successful media agency, Intimedia, which later expanded to include Intagreat, a sister business in Mauritius. Through a consulting partnership with Grit Real Estate, Leigh-Anne showcased her strategic insights and valuable contributions, ultimately earning her a permanent position within the company. Leveraging her comprehensive knowledge of media and marketing, Leigh-Anne is passionate about driving impactful campaigns, fostering meaningful partnerships, and utilizing cutting-edge digital technologies to deliver exceptional results for Grit.

Hugo Jordaan

Finance Director Grit

Hugo joined Grit in 2022 and currently serves as Finance Director. Prior to taking up the position, he served as Financial Director for the African region of the Orica Group of companies, listed in Australia. During his tenure, Hugo was credited with the planning and successful execution of the Africa region’s restructuring in a business optimal and tax efficient manner.

In addition, Hugo implemented several initiatives that resulted in a cumulative EBIT improvement of more than AUD13 million per annum and improvement in trade working capital of AUD10 million through the reduction in overdue debtor balances.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATIONS

Andries Smit

Head of Real Estate, Grit

Andries joined Grit in 2019. Prior to this position, Andries served as Managing Director of Benir, where he was responsible for the successful execution of multi-million Rand projects across multiple sectors. His oversight duties included compiling client briefs and determining the scope of work, representing clients at professional team meetings, managing the execution of construction projects against timelines, as well as co-ordinating the relocation arrangements of corporate departments.

Prior to joining Benir, Andries was the Managing Director of Motseng Selmec, a specialist facilities management and infrastructure group where he gained experience in telecommunication infrastructure management, as well as FMCG facilities management.

As a former director of Comserv Mozambique Lda, an infrastructure maintenance company, Andries has first-hand experience of operating in that country.

Craig Glutz

Head of Developments in Operations, GREA

Craig joined Gateway Real Estate Africa on 20 March 2020 with significant project and construction management experience across technical and service industries in Africa. His track record of successful project delivery includes 12 years in Southern Africa and five years in West Africa where he worked across commercial, residential, industrial, oil & gas and mining projects.

Craig immerses himself fully in each project and proactively manages diverse departments, skillsets and personalities to ensure successful delivery against all stakeholders’ expectations.

He has been an active lead in the development of the full scope of consulting services including project management, quantity surveying as well as mechanical, electrical & plumbing engineering.

Craig Leach

Head of Asset Management, Grit

Craig holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Science and an MBA, both from the University of Cape Town (UCT), and is a Member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

With over twelve years’ experience in the real estate sector, Craig specialises in Commercial Real Estate Investment and Development, and has an impressive track record in managing projects up to US$250 million. He has expertise in both income-producing assets and the unlocking of development projects.

Before joining the Grit team, Craig served as a director at Camstone Asset Managers, where he oversaw a small commercial portfolio worth ZAR600 million. He is known for his strong business acumen and ability to manage complex projects in the Real Estate sector.

Debra Kippen

Head of Leasing Manager, Grit

Prior to her current role, Debby served as Grit’s Group Asset Manager for Grit. She has extensive experience in property management, having worked on lease negotiations, preparing annual budgets, managing properties and staff as well as working on reports and attending site visits.

In her current role, Debby is responsible for the Group’s revenue stream and leasing strategy as well as the Key Account Management strategy of the portfolio across 10 jurisdictions in Africa.

She holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences in addition to certificates including for Commercial Property Practitioners, Commercial and Industrial Specialist and Shopping Centre Management.

Marieke Pieterse

Head of Operations Manager, Grit

Marieke is responsible for property management of the Grit, as well as the assigned GREA portfolios in sub-Sahara Africa. She leads the Real Estate head office operational team in Property Financial Management, Property Administration, and Facilities Management. Prior to her current role, Marieke served as the Group Property Manager at Grit from 2019 to 2022.

She holds a BCom Financial Management and was a Property Accountant at JSE-listed Accelerate Property Fund prior to joining Grit. With her extensive experience in the Real Estate sector, Marieke is known for her ability to manage complex operations and to provide mentorship and guidance to her team.

SENIOR LEADERS

Oj Nso

Head of Integration, Grit

OJ holds an MCom in International Banking and Finance as well as a BSc (Hons) in Banking and Finance. He is one of Grit Real Estate Income Group’s founding employees and has held various positions within the organisation since its formation in 2014. He is currently Head of Integration, responsible for building processes and workflows to ensure integration of new acquisitions into the business cycles and reporting process flow. A key aspect of Ojong’s responsibilities is ensuring staff across eight different countries of operation understand and adhere to the group’s policies and procedures.

He is responsible for the monitoring of key workstreams to improve interdependence between departments and enhance projects delivery in line with strategic objectives. Ojong previously served as Group Financial Asset Manager and as Senior Asset Manager at Grit Real Estate Income Group.

Anouchka Chummum

Group Compliance Manager Grit

Anouchka is a specialist advisor on compliance matters, reporting directly to the executive management. She holds an MBA in Finance & Investment, an LLM in International Business Law and an LLB (Hons.) Her role includes monitoring legal and regulatory requirements and assisting the business in developing controls and implementing frameworks, policies and processes to ensure compliance. Anouchka further assists with regulatory and compliance aspects of the London Stock Exchange and Stock Exchange of Mauritius listing requirements. She is responsible for the corporate governance of the group and advises the Board on governance mattes in line with the UK Code of Corporate Governance and the National Code of Corporate Governance for Mauritius.

Prior to joining Grit Real Estate Income Group, Anouchka was the Compliance Manager at Rogers Capital Corporate Services Limited and the Regulatory Affairs Manager (Retail Business Banking & Corporate Investment Banking) at Barclays Bank Mauritius Limited.

Natacha Clarisse

Group Company Secretary Grit

Natacha has over 16 years’ corporate experience working within the financial services sector in Mauritius. Prior to joining Grit Real Estate Income Group, she was Manager to the Director of Bridgewater Administration Limited and ACIA Aero Capital Limited for more than seven years and also worked as a Trust Administrator to the Trust Relationship Manager at Standard Bank Trust Company (Mauritius) Limited. Natacha holds an LLM in International Business Law, a BA (Hons) in Business Management and is also a member of the Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland (formerly known as ICSA). She has detailed knowledge of Mauritian corporate law and administration as well as a working knowledge of the regulatory environment of several jurisdictions spanning Europe, the USA and Africa.

Her core skills include financial services and legal experience, compliance, company secretarial and administration as well as company formation, mergers and acquisitions, winding up, people and relationship management

Alex Mugambi Njagi

Head of Legal, Grit

Alex provides expert and strategic legal advice across all real estate sectors, including development, capital raising, investment, treasury, property operations and leasing. He successfully oversaw the establishment of two real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) being a development REIT (the first D-REIT to be established on the continent) and an income REIT as well as their listing on the unquoted securities platform operated by the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

Prior to joining Grit Real Estate Income Group, Alex advised on the provision of Kenyan laws where he was responsible for contract drafting, reviews on all areas of law and conducting legal due diligence work for commercial transactions. He was also a senior associate at Dentons – Hamilton Harrison and Matthews Advocates in Nairobi, Kenya for more than four years.

Jacques Hattingh

Head of Group Finance, Grit

Jacques joined Grit as Finance Manager in June 2019 before being appointed as Head Group Finance in May 2022. Jacques is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Accounting Honours Degree from the University of Pretoria.

He has worked on multiple listing and compliance projects and also has a deep understanding of corporate governance, having ensured compliance with relevant regulations and policies, and played an active role in enhancing the governance structures of organisations he worked with. Jacques has experience in financial management, including insurance, mergers and acquisitions, legal and contracts, risk management, and consolidations, has enabled him to lead successful transactions and manage complex projects.

He has advanced experience in capital structures, having successfully managed and executed various financing deals throughout his career. Prior to joining Grit, Jacques worked in the IT sector for Digitata, a company in the telecom sector based in Mauritius, as the Chief Financial Officer.

OUR AWARDS

EMEA Finance Achievement
Awards

EMEA Finance AchievementAwards

Best Refinancing
in Africa

April 2023

Green Building Council
South Africa

Green Building Council South Africa

5-Star Green‑Star Rating
(The Precinct)

October 2022

EPRA (EUROPEAN PUBLIC
REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATION)

EPRA (EUROPEAN PUBLICREAL ESTATE ASSOCIATION)

EPRA 2020 Best Practices
Awards

SEPTEMBER 2020

PRICE WATERHOUSE
COOPERS

PRICE WATERHOUSECOOPERS

PWC Corporate Reporting
Awards

OCTOBER 2020

AFRICA INVESTMENTS
FORUM & AWARDS

AFRICA INVESTMENTS FORUM & AWARDS

Africa Investments
Forum & Awards

MARCH 2021

EPRA (EUROPEAN PUBLIC
REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATION)

EPRA (EUROPEAN PUBLICREAL ESTATE ASSOCIATION)

EPRA 2021
Practices

SEPTEMBER 2021

BONDS, LOANS &
ESG CAPITAL MARKETS

BONDS, LOANS & CAPITAL MARKETS

Structured Loan Deal
of the Year Award

MARCH 2023

OUR CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Charters

Policies

Statutory

Minutes

Framework

Reports

Statement of Accountabilities

Board Roles and Responsibilities

Charters

Policies

Statutory

Minutes

Framework

Reports

Statement of Accountabilities

Board Roles and Responsibilities

WHO WE ARE

OUR SUBSIDIARIES

AT A GLANCE

OUR STRATEGY

Our business model unlocks value for all stakeholders, including the people of Africa and is founded on the following core principles:

This is underpinned by impact investing through our core activities which include:

OUR PEOPLE

OUR AWARDS

OUR CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

STAY CONNECTED WITH US

USEFUL LINKS:

CONTACT INFORMATION:

MEMBER OF:

AWARD WINNER OF: