Simon Bray discusses some of the reasons why the Caxton Group have chosen to expand their presence in the digital space.
Marc Maurel: So Caxton, obviously, JSE listed company. One of the largest media companies in the country, but with a local presence in newspapers. Like I would know Beyond Berea, Berea Mail, as well as Get It magazines, but they're a publishing company, they're a print publishing company. Why are they interested in the digital space?
Simon Bray: Yeah, I mean, like any large-scale media company, I think it's exciting for them to look at the different media channels. And there's been so much evolution in that space globally, and locally. Print used to be the mainstay of how you communicate with local communities, and I think, to some extent, it still is. There's a very strong readership and following for papers like the Berea Mail and others. I mean, Caxton have hundreds of these publications across South Africa. But there is also this great scale to digital traffic, digital audience, and we're one of those platforms where people are finding themselves online. And I think Caxton, like any large media company, needs to have a presence in the digital universe, and we're one of the assets that allow them to do that. I think they've got a great digital vision of where they want to go as a media company in South Africa, and I think what's unique is whilst a lot of media companies are focused beyond the borders of our country, they're a very South Africa-first brand. And that's what we like about it as well. South Africa's really important to Private Property. We want to be part of building the nation's story. Property is a great way to do that. And Caxton are a perfect fit from that perspective as well because all of their assets are local, real strategic focus on where they drive South Africa's economy. And we're hoping to play a massive part of that, particularly on the digital side of their growth.
