Chris du Toit has been appointed commercial head at Tongaat Hulett Developments, effective November 1.
He aims to attract more companies to the City of Durban, which currently contributes 14% to the country’s gross domestic product.
Further, he hopes to better position Tongaat Hulett Developments and Durban within the broader national property market in order to attract big property investors.
However, he notes that most companies invest in Johannesburg, as it remains South African’s economic hub.
Du Toit’s appointment, Tongaat Hulett Developments MD Michael Deighton notes, marks an important milestone in the organisation’s renewal journey and will play an important role in attracting larger strategic investors to the region.
“We are excited to have Du Toit on board and are looking forward to his valuable contribution towards the achievement of our strategic and operational goals and objectives.
“Tongaat Hulett Developments is continuing its journey of organisational renewal to enhance the capacity of our team to create value for all stakeholders,” he says.
Going forward, Tongaat Hulett Developments will package parts of its portfolio as a pipeline. “This phased approach is good for big developers who look for serious scale.”
“In the past, we have embarked on high-end residential, commercial or industrial developments. With a longer-term portfolio approach, the focus will now be more on mixed-use developments with a number of large projects coming up,” Du Toit explains.