Growthpoint Properties has named Estienne de Klerk to succeed Norbert Sasse as group CEO from 2026.
The company said on Monday that De Klerk had been appointed group CEO effective July 1 2026, aligning with the start of the 2027 financial year.
Sasse will continue to serve as group CEO until June 30 2026, retaining full responsibility for the 2026 financial year, after which he will continue in an executive capacity until the end of December 2026, when his contract expires, to ensure a seamless transition.
Growthpoint also announced the appointment of José Snyders as group CFO effective January 1 2026.
De Klerk is currently the CEO of Growthpoint Properties SA and is a chartered accountant and Harvard Business School alumnus, having recently completed the advanced management programme there. He holds a BCom degree in industrial psychology and BCom honours degrees in marketing and accountancy, from the University of Johannesburg, and is a certified master practitioner in real estate.
With 30 years’ experience in banking and listed property, he had deep expertise in capital markets, M&A, property operations, broad-based BEE and industry transformation, Growthpoint said.
He has held multiple industry leadership roles, including chairperson of the SA Reit Association, past president of SA Property Owners Association and founder of the Property Industry Group, which supported the sector during the Covid-19 pandemic. He serves on the boards of key Growthpoint investments, including V&A Waterfront Holdings and Growthpoint Properties Australia.
Snyders is the current CEO of Liberty Two Degrees, a role he assumed following a successful tenure as both commercial director and financial director. He is a chartered accountant with a BCom degree and two honours degrees, specialising in financial analysis and portfolio management, and financial accounting.
He had more than 22 years of experience spanning financial services, investment banking and listed real estate, Growthpoint said.
Gerald Völkel will remain as group financial director until end-March 2026 to complete the half-year results for the 2026 financial year and the handover to Snyders.
Growthpoint, which is SA’s largest JSE-listed real estate investment trust (Reit), has assets in SA, the rest of Africa, Eastern Europe, Australia and the UK, with an increasing emphasis on the number of assets it holds offshore.
In June, Growthpoint, which is valued at R49.4bn on the JSE, raised its guidance for full-year earnings for a second time and now expects growth in distributable income per share of 2%-3%.
The group’s increased guidance was due to the improved performance, strengthening property fundamentals in SA, including continued outperformance by the V&A Waterfront, and lower interest rates, partially offset by lower offshore income due to the sale of Capital & Regional (C&R) in the UK.
Growthpoint disposed of its noncore investment in C&R to NewRiver Reit for R2.4bn in December last year, settled by R1.2bn of cash and newly issued NRR shares worth R1.2bn. The cash proceeds were used to settle rand-denominated debt.
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