Fourways Mall in Johannesburg is the biggest mall in South Africa, but it is causing serious financial headaches.
Following an expansion that finished in September 2019, Fourways Mall became the largest mall in South Africa with a gross lettable area (GLA) of 178,202 sqm.
GLA is the amount of space in a commercial building that can actually be rented by a tenant.
In close second place is Pretoria’s Menlyn Park Shopping Centre, with a GLA of 177,000 sqm.
With a GLA of 176,400 sqm, Gateway Theatre of Shopping in uMhlanga completes the podium.
Notably, South Africa’s busiest mall in terms of mall visits, Mall of Africa, only comes in eighth place due to its GLA of 131,038 sqm.
All 10 of the biggest malls in South Africa can be found in and around Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban:
| Rank | Mall | Total GLA (sqm) |
| 1 | Fourways Mall, Johannesburg | 178 202 |
| 2 | Menlyn Mall, Pretoria | 177 000 |
| 3 | Gateway Theatre of Shopping, uMhlanga | 176 400 |
| 4 | Sandton City, Johannesburg | 147 941 |
| 5 | Canal Walk, Cape Town | 147 834 |
| 6 | Eastgate Shopping Centre, Johannebsurg | 142 825 |
| 7 | Centurion Mall, Centurion | 133 333 |
| 8 | Mall of Africa, Johannesburg | 131 038 |
| 9 | Pavilion Mall, Durban | 122 768 |
| 10 | Cresta Shopping Centre, Johannesburg | 114 545 |
Size doesn’t matter
Despite its size and prime location, Fourways Mall is facing serious challenges.
According to co-owner Accelerate Property Fund’s (APF’s) latest financial results for the interim period ended 30 September 2023, Fourways Mall’s vacancies increased from 14,349 sqm in March 2023 to 15,109 sqm in the reporting period.
“Management continues to focus on reducing vacancies, with the overall vacancy (including Headlease) of 17.0%,” said APF.
Last month, APF proceeded with a rights offer, issuing 500 million ordinary shares in the authorised share capital of APF (Rights Offer Shares) for a subscription price of 40 cents per Rights Offer Share.
The group had previously declared its intention to raise up to R300 million but settled on a R200 million rights offer.
“The subscription price represents a discount of 31.65% to the 30-day volume weighted average price of the trading price of APF shares on 16 February 2024, being the last practicable date prior to the finalisation of the Rights Offer Circular,” said the group.
That said, APF and other owner Azrapart won a recent case against five insurers, including Aig Insurance and Old Mutual, for losses linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a judgment handed by the Johannesburg High Court, the Mall’s owners won in all three of their disputed arguments with their insurers, which will lead to a massive boost as they try to claim R1 billion linked to the pandemic.