It is a quarter of a century since the twinkle in Louis van der Watt’s eye grew into the development giant that Atterbury has become. As CEO known for his incredible deal-making ability, passion and fearlessness, he has led his team from in their midst for 25 years. As he prepares to hand over the reins on the operational front this year, the legendary leader shares some of his insights and future plans. 

When you started this company 25 years ago, did you have any inkling that Atterbury would come so far? If you compare your forward projections from that time, to the reality of today, what are your observations?
To be honest, I never thought about it in this way. I just saw so many development opportunities around me back then. Pension funds and listed property funds were not doing their own developments and were funding developers who immediately sold completed developments off. The Atterbury model was different from the start, in that I had a solid co-founding partner in Francois van Niekerk, who provided the initial capital when we formed Atterbury. We were thus able to develop an asset and could then retain our developments, allowing us to make development profits and then earn rental income thereafter. Now, 25 years on, vertical integration is the norm and most pension funds and property funds do their own developments.

The enormous change in the property-development landscape since Atterbury first started must impact on how the business is run today compared to back then.
Indeed. I have mentioned that there were so many opportunities around, and it was much easier to compete back in 1994. It really is a different ball game today where developers have to compete with funds who have access to cheap funding. There was also much less government involvement back then, and contrary to what the politicians like to say, they’ve made it more difficult to do business. Our country is overly regulated; in a lot of instances by bureaucrats who have no real understanding of the business landscape, and by a ruling party who brought our country’s economy to its knees by putting their own interests before that of the country and its people.

What are you proudest of, if you survey the company and its footprint now at the 25-year milestone? Can you share some highlights that in your opinion define Atterbury?
Atterbury has touched so many lives… I immediately think of the more than 650 Atterbury Trust bursary students, and the impact that has been made in the lives of Atterbury’s employees and their extended families. Our developments make an impact on people’s quality of life and I would like to see that as Atterbury’s legacy… we have improved and enhanced the lives of so many people. A lifetime of work not in vain.

What would you view as the single biggest challenge Atterbury has faced in its existence, and can you share how you approached, and dealt with it?
Cash flow. This must be one of the biggest challenges to any property development company. Hence the Atterbury model, to partner with people who are either much stronger than we are or have development land available, but do not possess the necessary skills to execute the development successfully. In this way, we managed to increase our experience and skills over the past 25 years.

What do you see as your most important learnings over the recent years?
I would single out the importance of a board with strong-minded independent members who have opinions different to your own. Also, the importance of populating executive management and investment committees with people who have good business acumen and speak their minds.

When a business is small, it’s less important, but when a business grows to a certain size, it is critical for a CEO to surround himself with the best minds.

Your views on the importance of private sector involvement in the community is well known. Do you see this becoming a growing trend in South Africa, and how have you positioned Atterbury to play a key role in its communities?
At Atterbury we got involved with communities who were forsaken by the government and made it our business to address issues that we believe the government is not addressing properly. I believe very strongly in business assuming a leadership role, voicing opinions and creating opportunities.

It must be a bittersweet experience to start handing over the reins to successors, after creating and building Atterbury according to a certain vision for so long. How do you hope to see the company developing under new leadership?
It has been an eye-opening experience working with both Armond Boshoff in South Africa and Henk Deist, who leads Atterbury Europe, for the last two, three years. It became clear to me that they both bring new skill sets to the table that will enhance the leadership of the company. It fills me with confidence about the company’s future.

Finally, can you share with us what you will be doing more of, once your corporate responsibilities are handed over and you can devote your time to other passions?
My passion is deal-making and I will continue doing that for Atterbury. I will also spend time in the Kalahari and devote time to my farming activities, but I have managed to do exactly that over the past two decades anyway!