Inospace invests in Paarl as regional industrial demand tightens
National industrial-property owner Inospace has agreed to buy a five-hectare industrial site in Paarl from Mpact Limited for R185 million, the company announced. The property, to be named Paarl Works, sits at the corner of Borssenberg Street and Jan van Riebeeck Drive and includes 29 541m² of gross lettable area (GLA).
The acquisition, struck at a year‑one yield of 10.2%, comes with income in place: the asset is fully let to Versapak Proprietary Limited (formerly Greenpath Recycling), a subsidiary of Sinica Manufacturing, on a five‑year lease that commenced in November 2024. Transfer is subject to the release of an existing mortgage bond, with completion expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.
- Purchase price: R185m
- Site area: 5 hectares
- GLA: 29 541m²
- Year‑one yield: 10.2%
- Tenant: Versapak Pty Ltd (five‑year lease from Nov 2024)
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Location | Borssenberg St & Jan van Riebeeck Dr, Paarl |
| Seller | Mpact Paarl Property Proprietary Limited |
| Transfer expected | Q4 2026 (subject to bond release) |
Inospace said the site already benefits from recent upgrades including new roof sheeting and rooftop solar. The company plans, over time, to apply its multi‑let model — introducing storage, micro‑warehouse units and a business hub as units become available — a rollout it has used at other purchases in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
“The Winelands is one of the fastest‑growing parts of the province, and all of that growth creates demand for the businesses that serve it, who need space close to their customers,”
Rael Levitt, founder and CEO of Inospace, is quoted as saying the group spent 18 months searching for the right site in Paarl and preferred buying a well‑located, income‑producing asset rather than building from scratch amid rising construction costs.
The deal sits against a backdrop of rapid development across the Cape Winelands: residential, tourism and retail nodes have expanded in recent years, and projects such as Val de Vie’s development and the R270m redevelopment of Paarl Mall underline growing commercial activity. Yet industrial stock has lagged. According to the Rode Report, Cape Town’s industrial vacancy averaged just 3.3% in the first half of 2026, while reported rental rates in Paarl have risen to about R70 per square metre, highlighting a shortage of available industrial space in the Western Cape.
For Paarl, the transaction is significant in several respects. It secures an existing industrial footprint in a prominent location, offers continuity of activity through an in‑place tenant and brings an investor prepared to subdivide and activate smaller units as demand dictates. That model can help local firms needing last‑mile logistics, storage or light industrial space to operate closer to the Winelands’ expanding market.
Municipal and planning authorities will be watching how the site is managed and how any future sub‑letting or reconfiguration interacts with traffic, access and service provision in the area. The transfer timing — dependent on the release of the mortgage bond — means the site will remain in its current operational state while the sale proceeds through registration stages.
Levitt’s connection to Paarl is long‑standing: he maintained an office in the town for nearly two decades after acquiring a local business in 1994, a personal tie the company says helped inform its search for suitable Winelands assets.
As Paarl’s built environment evolves, transactions such as this underline a wider theme: demand driven by regional growth is prompting investors to secure the scarce industrial parcels that remain. For local businesses and the Paarl property market, the Inospace purchase is a clear indicator that the Winelands are now firmly on the radar of national logistics and industrial landlords.
