Peter Bruil and Paul Langeveld outside Colourful Manor, a new guesthouse being developed in Gordon’s Bay.

Foreigners who buy property in South Africa to relocate often launch new businesses here, creating job opportunities while injecting much-needed capital investment into the country, says Peter Bruil, a director of Pam Golding Lodges and Guesthouses (PGLAG) – a division of Pam Golding Hospitality.

“Such immigrants often decide to relocate after spending a holiday in South Africa, and as many hail from successful but hectic corporate backgrounds, they seek a more relaxed lifestyle,” he says.

“As a result, they tend to look to buy properties such as guesthouses or lodges – acquiring comfortable owner’s accommodation as well as lucrative businesses. Generally they look for properties with spacious grounds, with areas such as Somerset West, Stellenbosch and Franschhoek in the Cape Winelands and upmarket Constantia in Cape Town the most preferred areas.

“A wide variety of European citizens are interested, predominantly from Holland, Germany, Italy, England, Sweden, Belgium and Switzerland. The economic crisis in Europe has made the outlook for many corporates bleak and with South Africa in the global spotlight in 2010 – and offering affordable and viable opportunities – former executives are deciding to follow their dreams of owning successful guesthouses in Africa,” says Bruil.

“The potential for realising this goal is very positive,” says Leonard Brewer, who is also a director of PGLAG. “South Africa’s tourism statistics show this is still an under-visited destination compared to many other long haul tourist centres. Coming off a very low base in 1994, our tourism sector has experienced healthy growth over the past 14 years.

“A good example of a success story is that of Paul and Marjolein Langeveld who moved from Holland to South Africa about seven years ago after several years in Beijing, representing a large Dutch catering company. A year before settling in South Africa they were holidaying in the Western Cape and decided this was the part of the world they thought surpassed many other possible destinations for natural beauty, opportunity, climate, space and a more relaxed attitude towards business and life in general. After careful consideration they eventually decided that Somerset West was the location offering the most value for money while meeting the above criteria.”

Since moving to South Africa Paul Langeveld has developed and established two guesthouse businesses in Somerset West, the second of which was sold by PGLAG to a German investor. Langeveld is busy developing a third guesthouse business in Gordon’s Bay, backed by a consortium of Dutch investors who have realised the potential South Africa has to offer. Each time he starts a new project, the scale is bigger and more capital is injected and more jobs created. The foreign investment brought in by Langeveld’s operations so far is about R27 million and has resulted in full time employment for 10 South African citizens, and the Gordon’s Bay guesthouse will employ a further five local staff, says Brewer.

Bruil, Brewer and Pam Golding Hospitality chief executive, Joop Demes, are originally from Holland. Bruil has worked in the Marriott Hotel in Amsterdam, managed a hotel in Europe and owned a restaurant in Stellenbosch, and moved to South Africa 10 years ago. Brewer, who has lived here for 14 years was originally a banker then bought a guesthouse in Stellenbosch; and Demes, who has vast experience in the Southern African hotel industry settled in South Africa in 1997.

Brewer says: “Having relocated to South Africa ourselves we have a good idea what other prospective guesthouse owners are looking for. Our services include advising on immigration laws and procedures, legal structuring and establishing a company. We also provide them with business models backed up through empirically collected data on average occupation rates in different areas and their respective achieved room rates, and we provide direction and contacts for many operational queries. Running a guesthouse is not rocket science, and as many prospective owners will have experienced hospitality at the receiving end in many forms, they are already aware of the basics of providing good service.”

Call 021 8525155 or email peter.bruil@pamgolding.co.za or leonard.brewer@pamgolding.co.za.