OPH
OPH (Olitzki Property Holdings) owns and leases commercial office, retail, and industrial space in Johannesburg's Gandhi Square Precinct to South African enterprises, banks, retailers, and government tenants, having restored dozens of CBD buildings since 1989.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1989
- HeadquartersJohannesburg, South Africa
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What OPH does
OPH (Olitzki Property Holdings) is a privately held inner-city property company founded in 1989 by Gerald Olitzki and headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. It owns and operates one of the largest private commercial property portfolios in the country, focused on the Gandhi Square Precinct of the Johannesburg CBD. Its portfolio comprises office (112 Main Street, High Court Building, Somerset House, Umoya House, Hatton Gardens), retail (Main Street Mall, Fox Street Mall, Mathomo Mall, Oscar Spares), and industrial spaces ranging from 20m² to 30,000m², several of which OPH acquired as derelict or vacant assets and restored to A-grade condition.
OPH generates revenue primarily through commercial property leasing on multi-year contracts (typically 3-5 years with annual escalation) to a diversified tenant base that includes major South African banks (FNB, Standard Bank, Nedbank, Capitec), food and retail chains (KFC, McDonald's, Steers, Nando's, Pizza Hut, Spur, Dis-Chem, SPAR, Adidas, Reebok), telecoms (Vodacom, MTN), and government, education, and professional services tenants. Pricing is per square metre (retail ~R240/m²/month excl. VAT) or per unit (offices from R2,500/month), with deposits equal to one month's rental subject to credit assessment, plus a 15% VAT charge and pass-through utilities. The company offers in-house design and project management to customize offices to tenant specifications, maintains 24/7 access control, and participates in the City Improvement District that funds precinct-level security and maintenance.
Distribution is direct: enterprise, mid-market, and SMB tenants are sourced through the corporate website (ophprop.co.za), social channels (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube), third-party listings (Property24, Gumtree), and direct leasing inquiry lines. The company employs 51–100 staff under Executive Chairman Gerald Olitzki, Managing Director Gary Aremband (since 2009), and Commercial Director Anton Jaffe (since 2012). Revenue is not publicly disclosed.
OPH firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- OPH
- Legal name
- Olitzki Property Holdings
- Website
- https://ophprop.co.za
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1989
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- OPH (Olitzki Property Holdings) owns and leases commercial office, retail, and industrial space in Johannesburg's Gandhi Square Precinct to South African enterprises, banks, retailers, and government tenants, having restored dozens of CBD buildings since 1989.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
OPH industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Commercial Real Estate Leasing
- NAICS
- Rental and Leasing Services (532), Services to Buildings and Dwellings (5617)
- SIC
- Operators Of Nonresidential Buildings (6512), Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Office Property Management (BPAJAGAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Flex / R&D Industrial Space Brokerage (BPAJACAC)
Keywords
Where OPH is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Johannesburg
- HQ country
- South Africa
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices1 record
Markets served
OPH business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Commercial Property Leasing: OPH generates revenue through leasing office, retail, and industrial spaces to businesses in the Johannesburg CBD. Properties range from 20m² to 30,000m², with pricing based on square meterage and location within the Gandhi Square Precinct.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Monthly | Entry-level office space from R2,500/month |
| Unit Pricing | Monthly | Retail space priced per square meter |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Standard deposit requirement |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Commercial lease terms 3-5 years with annual escalation |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels8 records
OPH product offering
Product offeringCore offering
OPH (Olitzki Property Holdings) leases commercial office, retail, and industrial spaces in the Gandhi Square Precinct of Johannesburg CBD, with units ranging from 20m² to 30,000m². The company owns and manages a portfolio of transformed heritage and modern buildings, supported by in-house design and project management services that customize leased spaces to tenant specifications. Additional offerings include parking facilities, pedestrianized public malls (Main Street Mall and Fox Street Mall), and curated precinct-level amenities aimed at national retailers, banks, corporates, and SMEs.
Product overview
OPH (Olitzki Property Holdings) is an inner-city property leasing company offering commercial office, retail, and industrial spaces for lease in the Gandhi Square Precinct of Johannesburg CBD. The company operates a portfolio of transformed buildings (including 112 Main Street, High Court Building, Somerset House, Oscar Spares & Mathomo Mall, Hatton Gardens Complex, and Umoya House) and manages public spaces (Gandhi Square, Main Street Mall, Fox Street Mall). The core offering comprises three rental product lines: Office Space Rental (20m² to 20,000m²), Retail Space Rental, and Industrial Space Rental, all supported by in-house design and project management services. OPH Workspace enables tenants to scale from small offices to large offices. Additional services include parking facilities at extra monthly cost.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Office Space Rental Commercial office spaces ranging from 20m² to 20,000m² available for lease in Johannesburg CBD's Gandhi Square Precinct, with in-house design and project management to customize spaces to tenant specifications. Entry-level units start from R2,500/month.
- Retail Space Rental Retail shop spaces in the Gandhi Square Precinct with over 250,000 daily foot traffic, catering to national retail tenants and local businesses. Priced from R240/m² per month excluding VAT.
- Industrial Space Rental Industrial properties for lease in Johannesburg CBD, accessible via public transport (Metrobus, taxis, Gautrain bus stops), ranging from small operations to fabrication facilities.
- Gandhi Square Precinct
- Main Street Mall
- Fox Street Mall
- 112 Main Street 19-storey premium office building overlooking Gandhi Square, purchased by OPH in 2015 after 15 years of vacancy; now houses OPH headquarters on the top floors and provides office space for tenants.
- High Court Building Heritage building originally built in 1904 in Edwardian style, later added Art Deco storeys in 1930s, restored by OPH in 2018 and now occupied by lawyers and small businesses.
- Somerset House Edwardian/classicism style three-storey building from 1906 fronting Gandhi Square with arcade running to Fox Street, restored and repurposed for retail and basement restaurant.
- Oscar Spares & Mathomo Mall Transformed complex featuring Mathomo Mall between two buildings, with hairdressing salons and eateries lining its tiled interior.
- Hatton Gardens Complex Seven-storey building with Carlton Gym (2,500m²) on ground floors and office space above, extensively renovated by OPH from a building that previously contained 180 corrugated iron shacks.
- Umoya House Office building on Gandhi Square purchased in late 1990s, featuring ground and first floor retail tenants including McDonald's, Steers, FNB, Nedbank, and MTN.
- Parking Facilities
Companies that use OPH
Customer profileNamed customers29 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
OPH technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
OPH partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- SappiminorSappi commissioned a bronze newspaper seller sculpture by Russell Scott for Fox Street Mall in 2006, which was donated to the City of Johannesburg and OPH as public artwork.
- Central Johannesburg PartnershipcoreOPH collaborated with Neil Fraser, then director of the Central Johannesburg Partnership, and Graham Reid, head of the Johannesburg Development Agency, to develop the Gandhi Square Precinct vision. This partnership helped negotiate a 45-year lease on public spaces and established South Africa's first City Improvement District (CID).
- Gandhi Square Statue Artist (Tinka Christopher)minorBronze statue of Gandhi (2.5m tall) created by Tinka Christopher, unveiled in 2003, depicting Gandhi with his legal gown and a book.
- City of Johannesburg / Johannesburg City CouncilcoreOPH negotiated terms of private lease with Johannesburg City Council for Main Street Mall transformation and Gandhi Square public spaces. The city supported OPH's inner-city rejuvenation initiatives.
- Central Improvement District (CID)coreThe Gandhi Square Precinct operates as a City Improvement District where property owners (including OPH) take charge of maintaining and cleaning the district, as well as placing security guards on the streets.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
OPH competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Vukile Property Fund: JSE-listed retail-focused REIT with a strong convenience and commuter-centre portfolio. Relevant comparable for OPH's high-footfall retail strategy and blue-chip QSR/banking tenant relationships in transit-oriented locations.
- Hyprop Investments: JSE-listed REIT focused on prime retail centers across South Africa, Eastern Europe, and West Africa. Broad incumbent on the retail leasing side, particularly relevant for the high-footfall, blue-chip-tenant mall economics OPH pursues at Gandhi Square.
- Emira Property Fund: Diversified JSE-listed REIT with office, retail, and industrial assets. Broad incumbent providing a useful benchmark for diversified South African commercial-property valuations and tenant-mix strategies.
- Growthpoint Properties: Largest South African REIT with a diversified office, retail, and industrial portfolio across the country. Broad incumbent providing context for institutional-scale CBD office landlords and the relevant comp set for A-grade inner-city office rents.
- Equites Property Fund: JSE-listed REIT specializing in logistics and industrial property with development capability. Broad incumbent for OPH's smaller industrial leasing line and for capital-intensive build-to-lease development economics.
- Redefine Properties: Major JSE-listed REIT with a large office and retail portfolio including significant Johannesburg CBD exposure. Broad incumbent comparable on office leasing economics, tenant mix, and capital-intensive urban asset management.
- Attacq Limited: JSE-listed property company anchored by the mixed-use Waterfall precinct near Midrand. Broad incumbent with a comparable model of large-scale precinct development, mixed-use tenanting, and long-duration leases with national tenants.
- SA Corporate Real Estate: JSE-listed REIT with a diversified portfolio across office, retail, industrial, and residential. Broad incumbent comparable for diversified commercial-property underwriting and inner-city retail exposure.
Direct peers
- Octodec Investments: JSE-listed REIT focused on owning and redeveloping CBD commercial and residential property in Johannesburg and Pretoria. Direct peer given nearly identical mandate: acquiring, refurbishing, and leasing inner-city office, retail, and residential assets to a similar tenant base.
- Spear REIT: JSE-listed REIT focused on high-quality Western Cape office, retail, and industrial assets. Direct peer on the model of owning and operating a focused, regionally concentrated commercial property portfolio leased to quality tenants.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
OPH social profiles
Digital presenceOPH financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
OPH leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
OPH funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
OPH M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about OPH
What does OPH do?
OPH (Olitzki Property Holdings) leases commercial office, retail, and industrial spaces in the Gandhi Square Precinct of Johannesburg CBD, with units ranging from 20m² to 30,000m². The company owns and manages a portfolio of transformed heritage and modern buildings, supported by in-house design and project management services that customize leased spaces to tenant specifications. Additional offerings include parking facilities, pedestrianized public malls (Main Street Mall and Fox Street Mall), and curated precinct-level amenities aimed at national retailers, banks, corporates, and SMEs.
Is OPH a public or private company?
OPH is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was OPH founded?
OPH was founded in 1989. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is OPH based?
OPH is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, in the Africa region.
How does OPH make money?
One revenue line is on record: commercial Property Leasing.
Who are OPH's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Vukile Property Fund, Hyprop Investments, Emira Property Fund, Growthpoint Properties, Equites Property Fund, Redefine Properties, Attacq Limited and SA Corporate Real Estate. Direct peers are Octodec Investments and Spear REIT.
Does OPH have an API?
No public API is recorded for OPH.
What industry is OPH in?
OPH's product category is Commercial Real Estate Leasing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAJAGAA, Office Property Management, with a secondary code of BPAJACAC, Flex / R&D Industrial Space Brokerage. Its NAICS code is 532 and its SIC code is 6512.