News

The following senior appointments are made with immediate effect:

Senior Management

Graham Muir:           Chief Financial Officer

Rob Newell:               General Manager Operations

Aldrin Smit:               General Manager Finance

Divisional Management

The following appointments are confirmed:

• Lizelle Bosman:                    HR Manager
• Adrian de Villiers                 Trading Manager – Trading Floor
• Belinda Anderson                Trading Manager – Statistics
• Omar Allie:                           Cold & Ripening Rooms Manager
• Garth Lucas:                         Health and Safety Manager
• Alta de Jager:                       Cashiering Manager
• Kashief James:                     Security Manager
• Eric Anderson:                     Information Technology Manager
• Julian Meyer:                       Estate Services Manager
• Ricardo Manuel:                  Assessment Centre Manager

Cape Town Market Investments (Pty) Ltd (“CMI”) and its associate, Mapalad Investments (Pty) Ltd (“collectively the (“the consortium”), have concluded purchase agreements with Altius Investment Holdings (Pty) Ltd (“Altius”) under which the consortium will purchase the shares owned by Altius in Cape Town Market and CMI

The completion of these transactions will result in the consortium becoming the majority shareholder in Cape Town Market. There are no other changes to the shareholding structure in Cape Town Market

Simultaneously Cape Town Market and the City of Cape Town have reached an agreement concerning amendments to the lease under which the parties have agreed the payment of an affordable and sustainable rental for the market premises

The consortium has appointed Rob Lowe as CEO of the Cape Town Market. Apart from managing the transition to new ownership, Rob has been mandated the task to develop, in consultation with the existing BEE shareholders, a new BEE structure for the market

Rob Lowe will give notice of the details of his new management team by separate notice

Philé van Zyl, Director of CMI, comments:

“Our objective is to create a powerful trading platform that is relevant to all stakeholders and is capable of growth into other areas. This is a huge opportunity for us to change the course of the fresh produce markets in South Africa. We are pleased that Rob Lowe has agreed to act as CEO to assist us achieve our objectives” 

Dr Anwah Nagia, Chairman of Altius, comments:

“The agreement with the City of Cape Town together with the capital and expertise of the consortium provides Cape Town Market with the best possible platform for future growth and success. I look forward to remaining with Cape Town Market as Chairman and as a member of the BEE consortium”

On this historic day, RSA Market Agency has taken a further step in securing their Cape Town Market footprint by acquiring the Fox & Brink Group.

The event, held at Cape Town Market’s premises, was filled with dignitaries from the Producer, Buyer and Market sector, which demonstrated the importance of the launch.

Introductions and welcomes was conducted by Mr. Deon van Zyl (MD Joburg), whilst the guest speaker, Mr. Gareth Haysom of the University of Cape Town, spoke of the African Food Security Urban Network, and the research that was conducted to enhance our understanding of the challenges all cities face with regards to rapid urbanization, with specific focus on the dependence of our food supply.

For more information please visit their website (http://www.afsun.org)

Cape Town Market’s very own Executive Chairman, Dr. Anwah Nagia, was the key speaker at the launch, and emphasized on the much needed co-operation of all stake holders in what seems to be a hot potato, namely the Land Reform Act.
He said that only with dialogue and mentorship would the Act become a success, and not ignoring the issues at hand. Special mention was made of the Cape Town Market’s recent capital expenditure of the new trading systems, as well as other Market upgrade projects. Dr. Nagia wished RSA all the success for their future endeavors and was hopeful that this relationship will prosper and spread throughout Markets.

Jaco Oosthuisen (MD RSA Group), was the next speaker and his message was about what the RSA Group will bring to the Market, which is “Profreshionalism”. Ethics and morals is a cornerstone of their organization, with their relentless pursuit of providing an excellent and consistent service to their Producers. The MD of RSA Cape Town, Mr. Maine Daniels, closed off the launch, before the ribbon cutting, and thanked all whom participated in making the Launch a success.

The ribbon cutting, jointly conducted by Dr. Anwah Nagia, RSA Group Chairman, Mr. Peter Misselbrook, Mr. Jaco Oosthuisen RSA Group MD and Johan Koen RSA Group Financial Director. This was followed by array of food offerings, which catered for the Cape Town palette, with all guests enjoying the options, on what was a historic day.

From humble beginnings, in 1954, when Mr & Mrs Vallie & Ayesha Adam first established Balmoral Fruit Supply, to their children celebrating 60 years in business on the,6^th December 2014,  the one thing that is constant is their Family value system, which is evident in the close relationship that the Management/Owners, staff and their valued customers share on a daily basis.

It is this work ethic and moral code that has seen Balmoral Fruit Supply remain the respected and established institution over last 60 years, in this ever changing world of fads, products and marketing tools. They have done so by always putting their customer first.

We at Cape Town Market congratulates Balomoral Fruit Supply on their 60^th Diamond Anniversary with the sincere hope of many more prosperous and successful years to come.

Contact Balmoral on balmoralcc@telkomsa.net or find them on Facebook at Facebook.com/balmoralfruits

At the beginning of this year Rob Lowe notified the board of his intention to relinquish his position as Chief Executive Officer in 2015. The board has concluded its deliberations on the appointment of a successor and is now in a position to make a formal announcement

The board considered numerous options, including the appointment of an external candidate. However the board has opted for continuity and has elected to replace the outgoing Chief Executive Officer with those who are familiar with the traditions and ethics that have been established at the Cape Town Market over the last 10 years. It is worth reflecting on some of the milestones that have been achieved over the past decade:

• The market has successfully transitioned from municipal entity to private ownership
• The market is benefiting from the application of sound business practices and the investment of private capital
• The infrastructure has been substantially improved
• Harmony has been introduced into stakeholder relationships
• Farmers and market agents have become shareholders in the market
• The market has entered into a solemn covenant with its famers enshrining the principles of integrity, trust and   adherence to the commission system
• Service level agreements have been entered into between the management and market agents and in the near future between the market agents and the farmers
• The electronic trading platform has been upgraded with the new Freshmark Refresh system
• The Cape Town Market brand is well known and respected in the industry

I am pleased to be able to announce that Graham Muir and Rob Newell have been appointed joint Chief Executive Officers with immediate effect. Graham will be responsible for finance and strategy and Rob will be responsible for operations

The board is confident that Graham and Rob will continue to build upon the legacy of their predecessor and wish them both every success with their new appointments

The board places on record its appreciation to Rob Lowe for his service to the Cape Town

Market and wishes him well in the future

Dr Anwah Nagia

CHAIRMAN