FEBRUARY 2012 |
www.opp.org.uk WORDS | Geoff Hadwick
WINNERS
OPP AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE 2011 | 59 Developer profi le Best of the regionals
Every month OPP profi les the winners of the latest OPP Awards for Excellence and gives you the real reasons why the best in the business scooped up the prizes and impressed our judging panel of more than 40 industry leaders from all around the world. This month we are looking at who were the best developers in regional markets around the world. IMG, Larkfl eet Homes, Dubrovnik Sun Gardens and Orascom came out on top.
BEST DEVELOPER LATIN AMERICA
Gold: IMG
What did IMG say in its entry form? “The high level of demand for housing in North East Brazil is allowing IMG to go from strength to strength. We decided this year that our original vision and business plan should change from building and selling to the tourist market
to focus instead on selling to
the high demand, middle-class Brazilian market via our ‘International Investor Program.’ We have also raised the bar in the area by building high quality social housing with full amenities, and our fi rst government project of 1,534 houses (Minha Casa-Minha Vida) has been launched. We are underway both in terms of sales and construction. And, as a result of this change, we decided that our original brand name Grup Immobiliari Natal Brasil was not relevant or appropriate any longer. So,
we changed the name and face of the company to IMG. This move, along with visual changes to our logo and image, was designed to make us more acceptable to both the Brazilian Market and to the international market. The company has grown in size
again this year and now boasts a full engineering department of 8 staff, a construction company of 70 staff, plus a series of fully-separate departments including Property Management, Commercial (split into local and international markets), Finance and Administration - which includes reception, licensing, customer service, and cleaning. We also have a senior management team of 7, the members of which head up each department. Our operations director coordinates the whole offi ce and puts systems and procedures in place to synergise the complete business. IMG is still headed by Ricard Masso.
For the middle class housing sector, which we serve via the International Investor Program, we are launching
What does IMG do?
IMG is a group of companies focused on sustainable real estate investments and developments in the Natal region of Brazil. Different companies within the group handle land purchases and re-zoning, project management, project development and marketing, local and international sales, property furnishings, rental management and property management. “With incredibly high local demand for housing, our business strategy is to focus on overseas investors and guarantee them a solid exit strategy and a healthy return on their investment,” IMG told the OPP judges. “Our experienced team of 25 staff deals with the local market and supports the international team that sells to international investors. Our last two developments have both sold very quickly - the first 100% sold within 3 months and the second development, which was more than double the size of the first, sold 70% within 3 months.”
a new development of 50 units called Golden Fields. This project is located in one of the best suburbs of Natal, near to all amenities, and we offer these units at the most competitive prices in the area. They are 15% below comparative market values, and offer a conservative 10% annual capital growth over the 2-year construction period. There is also a solid exit strategy to complete the model.
If investors wish to take part in future Solid | construction, investment and environmental policies work well for IMG
projects, we offer a “permuta” deal for them, which means that we take back their units at full market price. Permuta frees the client from having to sell units, from having to register deeds, and from paying CGT (capital gains tax) on the project … and there are no lawyer’s fees either! In short, Permuta clients maximize their profi ts and enjoy reduced fees and less hassle on exit. Some investors prefer to enter our “Guaranteed Rental Program” in which we pay 6% annual revenue, up front for a maximum of 4 years. As they have paid less on their investment compared to all other developments in the area, higher yields are achieved. And our revolutionary Social Housing development called Park Village is now under way. The government programme, Minha Casa- Minha Vida, plans to eradicate Brazil’s
housing defi cit and eradicate slum housing over the next seven years. Our plan is to offer the MCMV initiative as solidly built, aesthetically pleasing housing with good thermal and acoustic insulation standards. Sales hit 150 units in the project’s fi rst weekend on the market. Brazilians saw the difference in what we offered both in terms of the quality of our build and in terms of the facilities we were putting in place. These include a school, a police station, a health centre, a supermarket, a shopping centre, a playground, a football pitch and a church. Park Village is located only 20
minutes from the capital city of Natal, on a main transport link. We are trying to help change people’s lives and lifestyles for the future. We can offer these programmes at very attractive prices and standards because of certain factors. The normal local developer takes reservations of 1% and has to wait for capital to fl ow in to start construction causing delays on completion. This - along with normal payment plans stretching over 10 years after delivery - means funds are always stretched and companies risk major delays and even bankruptcy. We work with International Investment Funds to provide capital to start construction on time. We do not have to wait for sales to take
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