Unlocking the Power of Leasehold: A Shared-Value Model for South Africa’s Urban Future

By Warren Brusse, Chief Executive Officer, Zebinvest Real Estate Development

Leasehold development is not new, but its potential to transform South Africa’s urban landscape is only just being realised. At Zebinvest Real Estate Development, we view leasehold as a foundational model for inclusive, sustainable, and high-impact urban development, especially in regions like the Western Cape, where well-located land is increasingly constrained, but the demand for infrastructure-led growth is rising.

As a master developer, our role is to structure, deliver and activate leasehold developments that unlock shared value across the urban development chain — from private, community, traditional and public landowners to sub-developers, investors, and the end-users who live, work, and thrive in the spaces we build.

Here’s how the Top 10 benefits of leasehold development play out for each key stakeholder:

1. For Landowners: Preserving Ownership While Generating Wealth

Many of the most strategically located parcels of land in South Africa are held by private individuals, institutional entities, traditional authorities, community trusts, or government entities. Leasehold allows these landowners to participate in development without parting with their land.

Top 10 Benefits to Landowners:

1. Retain ownership of the land in perpetuity

2. Generate long-term, inflation-linked income through leases

3. Avoid development risk and capital exposure

4. Share in long-term land value uplift

5. Support land reform and economic transformation

6. Influence land use and community integration

7. Benefit from new infrastructure and services

8. Partner with reputable private sector best-of-breed developers

9. Build local socio-economic resilience

10. Create a sustainable and intergenerational legacy

    
    

2. For Master Developers: Unlocking Land Without Ownership

As Zebinvest, we serve as the catalyst between landowners, sub-developers, capital providers, and the end-market. Leasehold gives us the strategic ability to activate prime land without the capital cost of land acquisition, enabling catalytic urban projects that would otherwise be financially or politically unviable.

Top 10 Benefits to Master Developers:

1. Access prime, well-located land without purchasing it

2. Secure long-term development rights

3. Generate income through structured sub-leases

4. Reduce capital risk in uncertain or transitioning markets

5. Align with land reform and transformation priorities

6. Enable flexible and phased master planning

7. Attract long-term investors and institutional funding

8. Monetise planning, leasing, and development value

9. Mitigate political and regulatory exposure

10. Build scalable and replicable urban development models

    
    

3. For Sub-Developers: Plug Into Strategically Positioned Land with Approved Development Rights

Our developments are designed as turnkey, development right-ready precincts. Sub-developers, whether in housing, retirement, retail, commercial, or logistics — benefit from predictable lease structures, lower land costs, and an accelerated path to market.

Top 10 Benefits to Sub-Developers:

1. Access to land parcels with development rights in place

2. Reduced capital requirements by leasing rather than buying land

3. Secure long-term leasehold rights

4. Faster approvals and development timelines

5. Participate in growing, high-potential nodes

6. Leverage the brand and vision of the master development

7. Deliver transformation-aligned, inclusive projects

8. Reduce exposure to speculative land pricing

9. Benefit from exit liquidity and investor appeal

10. Focus capital on service infrastructure, product quality and operations, not land banking

    
    

4. For End-Users: Affordable, Secure, and Integrated Communities

Whether it’s families buying homes, businesses leasing commercial space, or entrepreneurs investing in retail, leasehold developments offer security, affordability, and access, without compromising on quality or location.

Top 10 Benefits to End-Users:

1. Affordable access to quality locations

2. Reduced property prices or rents due to lower land costs

3. Long-term tenure security with transferable leasehold rights

4. Live or work in walkable, mixed-use communities

5. Enjoy built-in infrastructure and modern amenities

6. Access urban opportunity in new growth nodes

7. Benefit from incentives during early growth phases

8. Be part of professionally governed, well-maintained precincts

9. Retain resale or rental rights through leasehold flexibility

10. Participate in communities built for inclusion, sustainability, and upward mobility

    
    

The Zebinvest Vision: Transforming Land into Legacy

At Zebinvest, we believe that the future of urban development in South Africa is leasehold-based, particularly in regions where land ownership is politically sensitive or held in communal or public hands.

By positioning ourselves as the master developer, we are able to provide the expertise, financing frameworks, legal structuring, and urban planning needed to turn underutilised land into thriving, inclusive, and commercially successful developments — all while preserving ownership for the rightful custodians of that land.

Our model ensures shared value: the landowner benefits, the community grows, the developer delivers, and the end-user thrives.

Warren Brusse, Chief Executive Officer, Zebinvest Real Estate Development