Harcourts expansion into Africa with Zambia office

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Harcourts announces expansion into Africa with new Zambia office

27 February 2008: Harcourts International Ltd is expanding into Africa, having recently signed a Master Licence agreement with successful Zambian real estate professional Gracier Ngaba of GT Properties.

Already the fastest growing real estate group in Australasia and with offices in Fiji, Indonesia and Singapore too, Harcourts’ agreement with GT Properties will initially see one Harcourts office opened in Zambia’s capital city Lusaka, one of the fastest growing cities in Africa. Other offices in Zambia and elsewhere in Africa are planned to follow.

GT Properties Chief Executive Gracier Ngaba says he pursued a partnership with Harcourts having researched five international real estate franchise groups last year.

“From my first contact with Harcourts I was very impressed, and when considering their credentials and our needs I decided they offered the best opportunity for us,” he says. “I particularly liked their passion and could see the huge amount of benefit we’d get from being part of Harcourts, which is quite different from other real estate companies and has a strong brand and excellent systems, training and support.”

Having signed a Master Franchise Agreement in January Mr Ngaba is now focusing on setting up a new Harcourts-branded office in a prime Lusaka location and relocating his team, who will be focused on residential property sales and property management.

“Harcourts’ strengths and our local experience will work together hand in glove,” he says “Joining Harcourts and having access to everything associated with their successful model will differentiate us and give us a competitive advantage, so we anticipate great results.”

Harcourts International Executive Director Paul Wright says the new agreement will help Harcourts achieve its “aggressive growth targets”.

“Partnering with GT Properties provided us with an excellent opportunity to further our ambitions of being a global, multi-cultural brand. It also presented us with an exciting challenge, which was part of the appeal,”
Mr Wright says.

“When Gracier contacted us we were impressed with his calibre, his proven track record, his enthusiasm and his fit with Harcourts’ culture and values,” he says. “Having now signed an agreement with him we’re looking forward to helping his company establish Harcourts in Africa and to a successful future together.”

Mr Ngaba, who has eight years experience in real estate and is the majority shareholder in GT Properties, says Lusaka has a population of approximately two million people. Dependent on the success of his Harcourts office there he would like to open another one in Kitwe, which is the country’s third largest city and the largest city in the wealthy Copperbelt province.

Expanding into Malawi and Botswana is also in his sights, he says.

ENDS

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