South African property chief Jackie van Niekerk’s Attacq stake tops $1.5 million

South African property executive Jackie van Niekerk has seen the market value of her stake in Attacq, the JSE-listed property group behind Mall of Africa, rise above $1.5 million after incentive and retention shares vested and were exercised, adding to her direct shareholding while Attacq’s stock price also gained ground.

Shares drive the increase

Jackie van Niekerk’s direct holding increased to 1,370,742 shares as of June 30, 2026, from 852,056 shares a year earlier, according to Attacq’s directors’ report. That represents a net increase of 518,686 shares during the financial year, with the increase linked primarily to employee incentive awards rather than purchases in the open market.

The company’s annual financial statements show that 943,067 long-term incentive plan and retention shares granted to Van Niekerk vested and were exercised on Oct. 14, 2025. Note 14 separately records that she exercised 943,000 options during the year and received a R13.542 million benefit from exercising those awards.

Why fewer shares remain

The difference between the 943,067 shares exercised and the 518,686-share increase in her direct holding reflects the way Attacq settles share awards. The company uses treasury shares for employee awards and allows recipients to sell part of their vested shares through the company, typically to meet tax obligations arising from the awards.

At Attacq’s recent JSE share price, Van Niekerk’s remaining direct stake is worth about $1.51 million, compared with roughly $744,000 a year earlier. The increase of more than $760,000 reflects both the additional shares retained after vesting and a 27 percent rise in Attacq’s share price over the past year.

Earnings provide another boost

The rise in the value of Jackie van Niekerk’s holding comes as Attacq reported stronger underlying earnings for the year ended June 30, 2026. Distributable income increased 17.2 percent to R888.5 million ($54.7 million), from R758.4 million ($46.7 million) a year earlier, supported by higher rental income and stronger occupancy across the property portfolio.

Net profit attributable to owners of the holding company was R1.44 billion ($88.7 million), compared with R1.5 billion ($92.4 million) in 2025. Total comprehensive profit rose to R1.77 billion ($110 million), from R1.65 billion ($101.7 million), while operating profit edged higher to R1.56 billion ($96.1 million), from R1.55 billion ($95.5 million).

Dividend rises with earnings

Attacq’s stronger cash generation also supported a higher annual distribution. The board declared a final gross cash dividend of 54 cents per share, taking the full-year dividend to R1.02 ($0.06) per share, compared with 87 cents ($0.05) in 2025. The payout represented 80.3 percent of distributable income.

That distribution was above the 75 percent minimum payout requirement for JSE-listed real estate investment trusts. Revenue also strengthened during the year, with gross revenue increasing to R3.13 billion ($193 million), from R2.87 billion ($177 million), while rental income rose 6.5 percent to R3.07 billion ($190 million).

Rental income leads growth

Rental income remained Attacq’s largest revenue contributor, increasing from R2.88 billion ($177.5 million) in 2025 to R3.07 billion ($190 million). The total included R2.06 billion from contractual lease collections and R825.8 million ($51 million) from tenant recoveries, alongside higher receipts from casual parking during the year.

Van Niekerk has led Attacq as chief executive officer since May 2021, after joining the group as chief operating officer in June 2017 and joining its board in June 2018. She has more than 14 years of property-sector experience and previously served as chief executive officer of Pivotal.

A career in property

Before joining Attacq, Van Niekerk led Pivotal Property Fund, where she became the youngest and only woman chief executive officer in South Africa’s property sector at the time. She joined Pivotal in 2009 and helped grow the listed development fund to about $740 million in assets.

She also established Pivotal’s offshore strategy, including the merger of Mara and Delta Africa to create the MaraDelta Africa fund. Pivotal subsequently acquired an equity stake in Echo Property Polska in Poland, adding an international component to the property developer’s investment strategy under her leadership.