The man behind South Africa’s most exclusive security estate
Martin Venter founded Val de Vie, widely viewed as the most exclusive security and lifestyle estate in South Africa.
Venter, who grew up in Kempton Park, started his career as a corporate commercial lawyer after finishing BLC and LLB degrees at the University of Pretoria.
However, while working with clients in the property field, he realised that he was sitting on the wrong side of the table.
He loved property development and, through his legal work, met the founders of Atterbury Property, Louis van der Watt and Francois van Niekerk.
Atterbury is one of South Africa’s largest and most successful property companies, with projects like the Mall of Africa and Castle Gate.
In the early 1990s, the company was still small. It had only developed a few properties, including Atterbury Value Mart.
Despite its size, Venter loved Van der Watt and Van Niekerk’s passion and integrity, which attracted him to the company.
After completing an MBA at the Stellenbosch Business School, he joined Atterbury at 28, where he gained tremendous experience in property development.
However, they focussed on commercial and retail properties, and Venter was more interested in luxury residential developments.
After two years, he left Atterbury, where he was a director, to pursue his passion for luxury residential estates.
During a one-year sabbatical, he visited and studied numerous lifestyle luxury estates globally to establish what people were looking for.
He returned to South Africa and started looking for the right farm in the right location on which to build a luxury residential estate.
He considered many areas around South Africa and settled in the Winelands because of its great surroundings, proximity to Cape Town, and international airport.
“My biggest challenge was to find the right property to buy,” he told Biznews founder Alec Hogg in an interview.
After a year of searching, he found a suitable property 3 kilometres from the N1 highway and a 35-minute drive to Cape Town and the Cape Town International Airport.
Another important aspect was its proximity to Paarl, which means he could target primary residents who live and work in Val de Vie.
Paarl offered residents access to good schools, hospitals, and shopping centres close to their homes. This was a recipe for success.
In 2002, he bought a run-down wine farm for R22 million, which would later become Val de Vie.
Val de Vie is born
Venter said he always had a passion for horses, which is one reason he made Val de Vie an equestrian estate rather than a golf estate.
He built a polo field at the centre of Val de Vie. During his fact-finding days, he discovered that houses adjacent to a polo field sold for a big premium to those next to a golf course.
The fact that a polo field is also much cheaper to build and maintain than a golf course made it easy to decide which route Val de Vie should take.
Construction in Val de Vie started in 2004, with R450 million invested in infrastructure for the new security estate. The first properties were also sold that year.
The Lifestyle Centre, completed in 2006, features a gym, a 25-meter indoor pool, squash courts, and tennis courts.
The first residents moved in in 2007, and the Polo Pavilion and Hurlingham standard polo fields were completed the following year.
In 2008, Val de Vie acquired Pearl Valley Phase Two, 320 hectares of undeveloped land between Val de Vie Estate and Pearl Valley.
The estate continued to grow with the launch of the Polo Village Apartments, Gentleman’s Estate, The Vines, The Oaks, River Reserve, La Vue and Le Domaine.
In 2015, Val de Vie acquired Pearl Valley, which includes the Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course.
Over the next decade, growth continued with numerous new developments, such as the second phase of the Polo Village Apartments and the Evergreen Luxury Suites.
In 2020, Venter said Val de Vie boasted a total asset value of over R15 billion, which illustrates the significant investment into the estate.
The estate also significantly improved its offering to residents, which included a deli, an online shop, a wellness farm, and a multi-purpose sports field.
It won numerous awards, including the best multigenerational resort in the world and the best residential development in South Africa.
At the 2021 International Property Awards, it was also named the best leisure development in the world and the best residential development in South Africa.
Today, an entry-level one-bedroom apartment costs R4.1 million, and small houses on the estate start at R6.3 million.
On the high end, a 2,080-square-meter 12-bedroom house with a 2.6-hectare yard is on the market for R120 million.
For those who want to build their own house, a 700-square-meter plot costs R5.6 million, and a 3,750-square-meter plot next to the polo field costs R34 million.
Despite the high prices, Val de Vie is one of the most popular estates in the Western Cape, with property sales of over R3 billion in 2022.
Martin Venter with other Val de Vie entrepreneurs
Martin Venter with Jack Nicklaus and Ryk Neethling
Martin Venter with Andrea Bocelli and Ryk Neethling
Martin Venter tests the latest Val de Vie wines
Martin Venter with Nico de Waal, Jannie Mouton, Arthur Case, Johan van der Merwe, James Wilson, and Ryk Neethling
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