Construction World July 2019

New divisional DIRECTOR The dynamic Andile Rapiya has been appointed Divisional Director Group Marketing: Brand and Communications at Broll Property Group, a leading and proudly pan-African commercial property services company. Her appointment to the new role became effective as of April 2019.

operators to fill their vacant spaces. For example, Investec has partnered with FutureSpace (Giant Leap) and has multiple co- working sites in Sandton, while Growthpoint has partnered with Workshop 17 (Open) with a site at the V&A Waterfront and another at the Maboneng Precinct in JHB. Worker experience a major factor in distinguishing co-working spaces It’s the overall experience, multitude of services and sense of community co-working spaces offer that makes them more attractive. The ongoing deployment of managed new technologies, high speed internet and customer specific IT solutions make most co-working spaces more convenient for potential clients. Co-working spaces or serviced office businesses are hospitality- type businesses and have a similar service ethic to that of hotels. There is a massive emphasis on good customer service and a quality client experience. In comparison, buildings that offer 'shared spaces' and have no management of these spaces are essentially boxes for rent. Co-working influences how buildings are designed and built Co-workers are demanding a quality experience from their clean modern day working environments such as fashionable interiors with interesting or fun break away zones, hotel style reception and ablutions, excellent security, healthy food options, leading coffee brands, high speed internet and professional R apiya (38), who holds a B.Com Honours in Marketing from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), joined Broll in 2017 as National Marketing Manager on the SA Corporate Real Estate Portfolio. Malcolm Horne, CEO of Broll Property Group comments: “Andile brings extensive marketing, branding and corporate affairs experience to her new role at Broll. Since joining Broll in 2017, she has made a positive impact on the company and we are pleased to announce her promotion to Divisional Director Group Marketing: Brand & Communications at Broll.” Commenting on her new role, Rapiya says: “I am delighted to have been appointed to head up this exciting position at Broll, which is a progressive leader in the commercial property services market in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean region. In this new role, I am looking forward to the opportunity to work with our various divisions to promote and position our brand in the various geographies we operate in across Africa.” Founded in 1975, Broll Property Group today has a presence in 16 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands, including South Africa, Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Reunion, Swaziland, Seychelles, Uganda and Zambia. Before joining Broll in 2017, Rapiya held marketing management positions at the Airports Company of South Africa (OR International Airport); The Pavilion Shopping Centre; East Coast Radio; and, PRIMEDIA Lifestyle. Prior to this, she worked at Disturbance Design; held a post as Corporate Social Investment Manager, Corporate Affairs at South African Breweries Limited; and, was a Junior Lecturer in the Faculty of Management Studies at UKZN.

Says Rapiya: “Since joining Broll in 2017, one of my greatest successes has been looking after the SA Corporate Real Estate Portfolio, for which Broll won 4 Footprint Awards in 2018. The Footprint Awards for shopping centre marketing is hosted by the South African Council of Shopping Centres (SACSC) annually, and is known as the industry’s top shopping centre marketing recognition initiative… Broll is a key player in the commercial property services industry, not just in South Africa but in several other countries across the continent as well as the Indian Ocean region. I want to take make my mark in taking Broll’s brand to the next level and am excited to work the Broll team to make this happen.” 

support staff. More and more new buildings are being designed with the potential to host a successful co-working operator should the opportunity arise, including shopping malls. Vacant retail space is ideal for accommodating co-working With so many of the bigger retailers not requiring the massive floor space thanks to online shopping, many retail spaces are standing empty. Retail spaces want customers with money in their pockets walking around their centres and co-working clients fit this profile perfectly. They are normally higher LSM types who will spend money in restaurants and shops. I’d expect most new retail centres to be making design plans to accommodate co-working as part of their tenant mix. Retail centres also normally have ample parking which is a big plus for co-working. Conclusion There are currently over 100 co-working locations across South Africa and approximately 14 000 sites worldwide with this number likely to grow to over 21 000 sites by 2022. And it’s not only market leaders who will lead this growth, smaller co-working providers will also find a sizeable space in the market with big organisations slow to change and not able to fill niche markets. This means co-working is here to stay. And it’s going to influence more than just the way we work and interact with each other but ultimately see building design and construction evolve in order to meet this growing sector. 

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD JULY 2019