TUHF Announces Expansion Plans As It Celebrates 20 Years Of Urban Revitalisation
TUHF Announces Expansion Plans As It Celebrates 20 Years Of Urban Revitalisation. As TUHF marks its 20-year milestone of fostering urban regeneration, the company has announced an ambitious expansion strategy aimed at addressing the evolving demands for affordable housing across South Africa – and plans to expand into the rest of the continent.
Under the stewardship of CEO Paul Jackson, TUHF champions the ethos of ‘making a difference one neighbourhood, one city block, one community at a time’. This principle has driven significant social and economic impacts in the urban landscapes across the country.
“The essence of properly located housing goes beyond shelter. It is an engine of economic growth and social wellbeing for the communities in those precincts. Our approach has always been about nurturing micro-economies within city blocks and neighbourhoods, thereby creating a ripple effect of inclusivity and wealth mobility,” explains Jackson. “This high-touch approach, distinguishing TUHF as an in-city financier, has been instrumental in stimulating business and employment opportunities, fostering mixed-use economies, and promoting mixed-income communities.”
Originating as an inner-city financier in Johannesburg, TUHF has progressively broadened its geographical footprint to align with the shifting demands for affordable housing. “Our journey began with urban regeneration within Johannesburg, focusing on affordable housing and black economic empowerment. As the landscape evolved, so did our strategy, leading us to extend our services beyond traditional inner-city areas to include in-city areas,” shares Jackson. “The expansion follows a well-defined in-city strategy. These areas, adjacent to the inner-city and near key urban nodes, align with our market expansion strategy. For instance, in Johannesburg it would be to move with the market to areas like Linden, Randburg, Buccleuch, and Kew, among others.”
The nationwide expansion has seen TUHF establishing a presence in 11 of South Africa’s metros, with a vision to extend its reach across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in the next two years. The strategic growth is backed by an extensive branch network, ensuring a local presence to better understand and meet the market demands. An example of this is through its uMaStandi township programme it launched in 2015. “There is enormous demand in South Africa for people to live in well located townships – and we are delighted to have found significant interest from property entrepreneurs looking to develop in those communities,” Jackson says.
As a specialised commercial property financier, TUHF has found that there is large market niche in townships where it is difficult to get commercial property finance at the scale (up to R5 million) in those communities.
