Balwin Properties has officially been delisted from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), marking the end of an 11-year experiment as a publicly traded residential developer and the beginning of a new chapter as a privately owned company. The delisting follows a buyout offer from a consortium comprising founder-management and the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), acting on behalf of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF).
Steve Brookes, who founded Balwin 30 years ago, and Managing Director Rodney Gray are remaining invested in the business, alongside the PIC. The existing management team is also staying in place, ensuring continuity of leadership and operations.
Brookes emphasised that the shift to private ownership does not signal a change in how the business operates or how it is led. “The discipline we developed during our years on the JSE will remain part of our DNA,” Brookes said. “This is about positioning Balwin for its next chapter with long-term institutional capital behind us.”
Balwin listed on the JSE in 2015 at around R10 per share, but over the years, its share price declined significantly as the company navigated the challenges of running a large-scale residential development business in a public market. In May this year, the consortium offered R4.35 per share—a 41% premium to the six-month volume-weighted average price—valuing the company at approximately R2.26 billion.
The delisting was not a rescue operation. Balwin’s latest results showed revenue up 21% to R2.7 billion, apartment handovers increasing to 2,053 units, and recurring profit rising 36% to R273.6 million. The focus was on whether a capital-intensive, long-term property developer was suited to the demands of the public market.
During its 11 years on the JSE, Balwin delivered around 26,000 apartments, generated R28.3 billion in sales, and completed its 100th residential development in 2025. Now, with private capital and founding management still at the helm, Balwin is poised to write its next chapter—free from the quarterly pressures of public markets. For the JSE, the delisting marks the end of an era for listed residential development. For Balwin, it is a new beginning.
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