Key Takeaways:

  • Resilience Amid Challenges – AttX successfully navigated its first year despite Covid-19, demonstrating adaptability and teamwork.
  • Financial Strength – Achieved a 90% collection ratio, ensuring operational stability and supporting the broader value chain.
  • Strategic Adaptation – Focused on protecting staff, tenants, and cash flow while postponing long-term projects.
  • Operational Milestones – Implemented a new system, changed management, and maintained strength through the crisis.
  • Future Outlook – Aims to be an industry benchmark, leveraging agility to adapt, innovate, and grow.

 

 

It has been a year since the launch of AttX, the innovative property services joint venture between Atterbury and Excellerate Property Services (EPS). We celebrated AttX’s first birthday with MD Yvette du Toit.

Happy first birthday to AttX! It has been an unusual year indeed, and a challenging one for the property industry. What is your birthday wish for AttX?
To be able to continue to grow to our full potential. We have a great team; incredible shareholders and we work on an A-class portfolio; we have it all going for us and I am therefore confident that we will continue to move toward where we are aiming to go.

How have you had to adapt your objectives for the first year, considering the impact of Covid-19?
During the pandemic we as a company went back to the basics, focusing on protecting our staff and tenants, our cashflow and our existence as a company. Each team member within AttX came together to help us collectively reach these goals. Longer-term projects and implementations were postponed for now.

Since AttX offers very targeted property services, you must have been better placed than most landlords and property managers to deliver the best service to the tenants and buildings under your management in a difficult time. Can you give us a practical example or two of how AttX has provided problem-shooting solutions at any of the assets?

Over the last five months we achieved an average collection ratio of 90%. This enabled us to keep operations running and to do our part to keep the economy going by paying our suppliers, who in turn could pay their suppliers and in so doing we all managed to keep the value chain afloat. This was a collective effort, from the asset managers who assisted the tenants with discounts and Covid-19 remissions, to our shareholders who funded operations where necessary. Overall our general response to Covid-19 is in my mind a true reflection of our values and drive to deliver a quality service to all our stakeholders.

Aside from the obvious challenge, what do you feel has been the biggest triumph of the first year?
In our first year we implemented a new operating system, changed management and navigated through Covid-19. We still came out strong on the other side, which says a lot and most definitely speaks about our resilience and agility.

What is your current focus and that for the rest of 2020?
Our aim will be to operate as effectively as possibly in “the new normal”. Covid-19 and its effects are inevitable, embracing these changes and looking for new opportunities and efficiencies is where our focus remains.

Onwards to 2021… where do you hope to see AttX by the end of next year and beyond?
AttX is aiming to be a benchmark in the industry in certain aspects. We are a small dynamic company, and this makes us incredibly adaptable and able to deal with change and explore new ways of working. Our agility enables us to act fast, constantly improve and ultimately achieve new heights. The future is ever evolving, and we need to evolve with it. I like to live and work by this memorable quote by Abraham Lincoln: “The best thing about the future is that is comes one day at a time.”