Financial services firm Standard Bank and corporate finance advisory firm Java Capital have formed a partnership to create an integrated advisory, capital-raising and financing services and investment platform focused on South Africa’s real estate, infrastructure and broader real estate sectors.

Real estate is an important sector in any economy, such as in the form of factories, warehouses, business centres, retail centres and housing. Through the partnership, Standard Bank aims to take an advisory-led approach to becoming a strategic adviser to businesses in the sector, Standard Bank Investment Banking head Brian Marshall said during a September 8 media briefing in Johannesburg.

“We want to provide clients with solutions beyond what we currently offer, such as by providing advisory and capital-raising services integrated into our balance sheet, investment and financing services,” he said.

The partnership combines Standard Bank’s Africa network and balance sheet strength with Java Capital’s specialist corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and equity capital markets expertise.

By combining advisory origination, capital markets capability and structured financing, the partnership positioned Standard Bank to support clients through increasingly complex investment opportunities and funding decisions, he said.

The collaboration supports access to a broader range of capital solutions for real estate investors, developers, listed property companies and infrastructure-adjacent businesses across the capital structure, including advisory-led capital raising, debt and equity origination, structured funding and selected co-investment opportunities.

“With this partnership, we can provide solutions across the capital stack, including mezzanine, access, equity and private capital. Importantly, the partnership with Java Capital means we are brought into deals early,” said Standard Bank real estate sector head Andrew Robinson.

This enabled both partners to develop a competitive and compelling solution for clients, and adopt a solution-driven mindset to help clients identify opportunities, develop strategies, raise capital and secure investment and financing for projects, he said.

South Africa's real estate market is entering a more constructive phase and the nature of capital is changing in tandem.

“Balance sheets have strengthened, financing conditions are stabilising and there is renewed appetite for mergers and acquisitions and investment. However, the capital required to unlock this next phase of growth cannot only come from traditional sources. The ability to connect high-quality opportunities to different pools of capital and structure innovative solutions around specific needs is vital,” he added.

Additionally, the partnership created a more seamless way of enabling clients to move from idea to execution, despite increasingly complex markets, said Java Capital founding director Andrew Brooking.

“Java Capital has built its reputation on specialist advice, deep client relationships and the ability to execute complex transactions in the real estate and capital markets sectors. This partnership creates an opportunity to broaden that proposition by closing any gaps between identifying an opportunity, structuring the right transaction, and securing the capital to execute,” he explained.

As capital markets evolved, clients increasingly needed partners who could combine strategic advice, execution certainty and access to capital, Standard Bank South Africa investment banking head Justin Bothner said.

“By combining Java Capital’s origination and advisory strengths with Standard Bank’s financing and execution capabilities, we can respond to these shifts and requirements in a much more integrated way,” he said.

Clients did not think about strategic advice, capital-raising and financing and deal structuring as separate services. Additionally, real estate companies, investors and asset owners must navigate increasingly complex portfolios and capital structures, Bothner said.

“The challenge is not solely securing funding, but identifying opportunities and structuring transactions appropriately and connecting them to the appropriate sources of capital.

“The partnership is in response to changing client needs and for the future real estate advisory and capital markets,” he added.

An immediate benefit is that Standard Bank's real estate clients will have access to real estate-focused Java Capital's expertise, while Java Capital's clients will benefit from access to capital and the bank's distribution and execution capabilities.

“In the current competitive world, if you have a good deal, you need to be able execute it with certainty. This requires derisking it. The partnership with Standard Bank provides this ability to derisk deals and offer certainty and execution capability to clients,” said Brooking.

Real estate clients, particularly in public spaces, require significant assurance before a deal can be made.

Certainty of execution, derisking execution and having funding solutions that catered for the vagaries of public and private capital were critical to succeed in this competitive environment, he said.

“This collaboration is about aligning with where the market is moving, originating opportunities, building a more responsive investment banking platform that delivers the advice and capital needed to turn those opportunities into executable transactions that create real value for clients and contribute to Africa’s sustainable growth,” said Brooking.

The initial focus of the partnership will be on real estate and selected real assets, with opportunities across listed and unlisted property, private capital, infrastructure-adjacent assets and other sectors where long-term capital can support growth, development and value creation.