It’s business as usual at Mandela Rhodes Place

Claims that Mandela Rhodes Place in Cape Town’s CBD is in severe financial distress are based on misinterpretation of the facts, say business owners and the management of the hotel and spa that are part of the development.
“Mandela Rhodes Place is a set of five buildings which form an entity, a sectional title development, that is not owned by one person or company in particular,” explained Desmond O’Connor, GM of the Mandela Rhodes Hotel and Spa. “It is owned by a collective of owners of the 180 apartments, as well as the proprietors of the various retail and commercial ventures.
“This means it can’t possibly be in financial trouble – as has been inaccurately reported recently in the media.”
O‘Connor referred to media reports that have suggested that Mandela Rhodes Place had accumulated losses to the tune of millions and millions of rands over the past few years. These were not trading losses but fair value accounting provisions in the accounts of one owner at MRP. In fact, he said, the centre has traded extremely well with consistent strong growth year-on-year and continues to do so.
The problems are faced by West City, which owns apartments and the retail and office space that is leased to the individual business owners, O’Connor noted.
Last month, the Anglo Irish Bank Corporation, which is itself being wound up, filed court papers to liquidate West City Precinct Properties. This action has been strongly opposed by the company which has applied for a business rescue plan.
“As for us at the hotel, we are doing really well,” O’Connor said.
“If we remove the inflated World Cup revenue from last year’s figures, we are ahead of target and have had consistent year-on-year growth since we commenced operations.
“It is a reality that the South African tourism industry is having a difficult time. Having said that, in the winter months we traded at 70% occupancy, which was abnormally high. In September, our occupancy rate was 73%. Looking at these figures it is clear that Mandela Rhodes Place Hotel and Spa is one of the better performing properties in Cape Town.
“Our feedback from guests and residents is that they feel safe in the city centre and love the buzz, which is reflected in the extraordinary growth of the Thursday Earth Food Fair market outside on St Georges Mall.”
The owner of the Doppio Zero restaurant in Mandela Rhodes Place, Danny Diliberto, also dismissed the statements about MRP being in financial difficulty. “Mandela Rhodes Place Hotel and Spa has had a very busy winter and is rocking. If it were ‘in distress’, which it can’t be because it owned by various individuals and businesses, I would not be doing between 60 and 95 breakfasts on average per day,” he said.
“My business would not have grown by 20% on an annual basis if these reports were accurate. This year lunch and dinner trade has increased substantially which is partly due to the high occupancies in the hotel.”
“I have just extended my lease by another three years,” stated David Luman, owner of Cape Town Framed, a curio shop. “I would not have done that if the place was about to go under, would I? Over the past three years since I opened, I have seen double-digit growth above inflation, which has surpassed my expectations.”