Spier Estate

completed

The Spier Estate, nestling under the mountains surrounding the picturesque town of Stellenbosch in the heart of South Africa''s wine country, is presently one of the top ten tourist sites in the Western Cape province. The attractions include the old buildings which also serve as the conference center and various restaurants, a picnic area, the working winery (which is part of Winecorp, a separate Capricorn company), a Cheetah conservation center, and an outdoor theater used for the annual Spier Festival. The project will help create 2,000 new jobs over the next five years through (i) expanding the existing farming activities, (ii) developing new initiatives in horticulture distribution, (iii) widening the scope for attracting extra business to the existing conference center by providing tied accommodation via an adjacent 150-room limited services hotel aimed at the domestic conference market, and (iv) constructing a new 250-room resort hotel and golf course aimed at international travelers. In addition, three separate villages will be constructed on the estate, partly to provide affordable quality housing for estate workers and partly for sale and rent to others. In keeping with the sponsor''s philosophy, each village will contain a mix of different housing and will be designed as a balanced community. One of the villages includes a new school which has already been built, replacing a dilapidated rented property.IFC''s participation in the project with loan and equity will help create an appropriate financial structure, as loans are not readily available from South African institutions for longer maturities (the other major lender will be the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation).