Attacq Chief Executive Officer succeeds Growthpoint’s Estienne de Klerk following a planned handover as the Association launches a delivery-focused operating model for the sector’s growth phase.
Jackie van Niekerk, Chief Executive Officer of Attacq Limited, has taken over as Chairperson of the South African Real Estate Investment Trust Association (SA REIT Association), succeeding Estienne de Klerk, Group Chief Executive Officer of Growthpoint Properties Limited, with effect from the Association’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Johannesburg on Monday, 20 July 2026.
The handover comes with South African real estate investment trusts (REITs) in their strongest position in years. The sector delivered a total return of 38.6% in 2025 on the back of 35.8% in 2024, its market capitalisation has moved through R350 billion and member companies raised more than R11.4 billion in fresh capital through oversubscribed bookbuilds during 2025. Having moved from a period of balance sheet repair to one defined by growth, renewed corporate activity and deepening investor confidence, the sector enters its next phase with an Association restructured to match.
A chairmanship defined by recovery and rising international standing
De Klerk steps down as Chairman having led the Association through the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rebuilding of balance sheets and investor confidence that followed. Under his chairmanship the Association sharpened the sector’s disclosure standards, releasing the Third Edition of the SA REIT Best Practice Recommendations (BPR) in May 2026, while deepening its advocacy with government, regulators and investors.
The international high point came in Stockholm. On 17 September 2025 the Global REIT Alliance (GRA) launched at the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA) Conference, bringing together REIT associations from 24 countries and regions whose members collectively represent companies managing approximately 98% of the world’s roughly USD 2 trillion in REIT market capitalisation. De Klerk and SA REIT Association Chief Executive Officer Joanne Solomon represented the South African sector at the launch, confirming its place within the structure that speaks for virtually the entire global REIT universe.
“It has been a privilege to chair the Association through a period that tested the sector severely and then rewarded its discipline,” says De Klerk. “I hand over an organisation that is stronger, better connected internationally and better positioned to serve its members. Standing in Stockholm as South Africa took its place in the Global REIT Alliance confirmed what the numbers already show. Our sector has earned its standing among the world’s leading REIT markets.”
“Jackie brings deep industry knowledge, the credibility of her leadership at Attacq and a clear focus on delivery,” he adds. “This handover was planned well in advance and executed deliberately. She takes the chair with solid foundations beneath her and real momentum behind the sector. I have every confidence in the Association’s direction under her leadership.”
Succession by design
The change of chair forms part of a deliberate renewal of the Association itself. With effect from August 2026, seven standing committees consolidate into three delivery portfolios: Accounting, Regulation and Taxation; Markets, Research and Investor Engagement; Transformation. Each portfolio carries a clear mandate, defined priorities for the year and measurable objectives, supported by focused, time-bound Working Groups convened around specific outcomes. The Legal and Competition Commission function becomes a cross-cutting advisory capability serving all three portfolios.
De Klerk remains available to the Executive Committee as Strategic Advisor, preserving the institutional knowledge and relationships built over many years. Planned leadership transitions are established practice among the Association’s member companies. In renewing its structure and managing an orderly handover of the chair, the Association has applied the same discipline to itself.
A record of delivery
Van Niekerk takes the chair with an established record across the sector. She is Chief Executive Officer of Attacq Limited, the real estate investment trust developing Waterfall City. She is also a Past President of the South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA).
Within the Association she chaired the Marketing and Conference Committee through a period in which the sector’s public profile strengthened markedly. The monthly SA REIT Chart Book confirmed itself as a trusted reference point for analysts, financial media and advisers, The REIT Report podcast series brought REIT executives and analysts to a broader audience on Classic Business (Fine Music Radio) and the 2026 SA REIT Conference became the most successful since the Association’s formation in 2013.
“It is a privilege to take the chair as the sector reaches a clear turning point,” says Van Niekerk. “I want to thank Estienne for his leadership and for the strong foundation he leaves. I am pleased that his experience and relationships remain available to the Executive Committee, because continuity of institutional knowledge matters as much as renewal.”
“Our central purpose is to position South African REITs as a compelling asset class for both global and local capital,” she adds. “That calls for clear priorities, accountable delivery and measurable objectives, which is exactly the structure the new operating model gives us. Each portfolio knows what it is trying to achieve, who is accountable and what success looks like. The sector’s momentum gives us every reason to be ambitious.”
The year ahead
The Association’s agenda for the new term centres on sustained engagement across debt, equity and international markets, a stronger and more consistent research capability to support the sector’s investment case and closer alignment with the JSE Limited (JSE) on disclosure and sustainability. Van Niekerk and Solomon will begin by engaging directly with member chief executives to understand what the industry requires from the Association and to translate that into the Executive Committee’s priorities, while developing the opportunities created by membership of the Global REIT Alliance.
“This transition reflects careful planning by the Executive Committee and a shared view of where the Association is going,” says Solomon. “We retain Estienne’s experience and standing while gaining a Chairperson with a clear record of delivery. With the new operating model in place and real momentum behind our members, the Association is well placed to serve the sector through its growth phase.”
Highlights of the announcement
- Jackie van Niekerk, Chief Executive Officer of Attacq Limited, has taken over as Chairperson of the SA REIT Association with effect from the Association’s AGM held on 20 July 2026
- She succeeds Estienne de Klerk, Group Chief Executive Officer of Growthpoint Properties Limited, who remains available to the Executive Committee as Strategic Advisor
- The Association’s new operating model launches in August 2026, consolidating seven standing committees into three delivery portfolios supported by time-bound Working Groups
- The handover comes with the sector in a position of strength. A 38.6% total return in 2025, market capitalisation above R350 billion and more than R11.4 billion raised through oversubscribed bookbuilds during 2025
- Under the outgoing chairmanship the Association took its place in the Global REIT Alliance, launched in Stockholm in September 2025, whose members collectively represent companies managing approximately 98% of the world’s REIT market capitalisation
- Van Niekerk and Chief Executive Officer Joanne Solomon will engage member chief executives to shape the Executive Committee’s priorities for the new term
Source: SA REIT