Durban property developer creates over 10 000 jobs through developments

Through its property developments, property developers, the Devmco Group has created over 14 000 jobs in five years. Having invested in the Sibaya Coastal Precinct as recently as 2014, the jobs created by Devmco have set off a host of cascading benefits with employment being top of the list.

Charles Thompson said, "On average 170 jobs are created for every R100 million that goes into creating a development, and between Umhlanga and Sibaya Coastal Precinct we have brought R8 billion worth of development to life- that translates into an average of 14000 temporary jobs".

Cascading from this, Devmco’s investment into KZN’s North Coast has meant that between 1400 to 1600 permanent jobs have been created by way of professional appointments and other permanent staff at households such as housekeepers, nannies and other services. “At our offices, across the road from OceanDune, we now have 60 permanent professionals under one roof. Although they contract to us on our developments, they are still able to take on other work if they want to. Outside of our doors, if we use a simple 1:1 ratio, across five of our developments there are potentially over 1000 permanent jobs existing as a result".

As their development journey grows and matures, so will the opportunities for employment and as a ‘passionately Durban’ developer, Devmco are here to stay, Thompson added, "We are extremely bullish about not only KZN and Durban but also South Africa, and we truly believe SA’s potential is untapped. Durban alone has so much to offer- sea, bush, berg and all within close range. And with the aerotropolis on the cards, there is a lot more to come".

As the first developers within the Sibaya Coastal Precinct, the Devmco Group are heavily invested in Sibaya and what’s to come and Thompson explains what it is they look for as developers, "It’s pretty simple, I ask myself ‘As a buyer would I want to buy there?’ and once I have that answer then I look at it from the developer’s perspective- ‘If I develop here would both parties win? Am I leaving enough on the table for the buyer?’ Both of us need to make money and walk away smiling. If we can say yes to all of those then we are making the right choice as developers," said Thompson.

Devmco's developments OceanDune Sibaya and Pebble Beach Sibaya, as well as Gold Coast Estate, have announced have achieved R36 million in sales in one week. With their first residential development, Pebble Beach Sibaya the company achieved R675 million in sales on their launch day.

The most recently launched development, Gold Coast Estate, has also had phenomenal success with 170 off-plan homes launched and 80 percent sold out in only 5 days from launch. Devmco are also the co-developers of the Umhlanga Arch. The R1.3 billion iconic development is one of the largest mixed-use developments in the province.