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Rael Levitt

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Rael Levitt (born 10 May 1971) is an entrepreneur, author and business leader from South Africa. He is a double master's degree graduate from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and the National University of Singapore.

Career

Levitt founded multiple real estate, investment and asset management companies. He is best known for developing both auctions and logistics parks in Southern Africa.[1]

Early career

While studying at the University of Cape Town, Levitt sold his first property in 1989.[1] In August 1992, he conducted his first auction on behalf of Absa Bank Ltd[2] and at the age of 21 founded his first auction company, Levco Auctions.[3] Three years later Levitt sold Levco Auctions to Seeff Holdings Ltd and merged the two companies. Levitt was appointed CEO of the merged company that was renamed Seeff Auctions.[4]

Auction Alliance

After the delisting of Seeff Holdings Ltd in 1998, Levitt completed a management buyout of Seeff Auctions, renamed the company Auction Alliance and became its CEO.[5][6] In 2006 Auction Alliance sold a 25.1% stake to Amabubesi Investments[7] and in 2010 a 31% stake to Transaction Capital.[8] By 2010 Auction Alliance's turnover was over R300 million, with sales of over R6 billion.[9] In 2011, after a well-publicized dispute arose at an auction, Levitt voluntarily closed Auction Alliance.[10]

Superpom

In 2012, Levitt acquired a bankrupt Pomegranate orchard at the Bonathaba Farms in Wellington, Cape Town and renamed it Superpom SA.[11] The company became South Africa's largest pomegranate exporter and Levitt became a non-executive Chairman of the company.[12]

Inospace

In 2017 Levitt founded Inospace, an owner and manager of serviced industrial and logistics parks.[13] The company began with one industrial park in Epping, Cape Town and grew through acquisitions.[14] Under Levitt's leadership, Inospace grew its assets in South Africa and the United Kingdom to over R3billion.[15] In 2022 Inospace concluded a R1,25billion transaction with Fortress REIT Ltd.[16] In 2023 the company branched into the logistics sector offering outsourced warehousing and fulfilment services to e-commerce businesses [17]

Lift Airline

Levitt is a founding shareholder of Lift Airline, which launched on 10 December 2020. Lift operates on major domestic routes from O. R. Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg using a fleet of Airbus A320 narrow body aircraft, operated by Global Aviation. Levitt is a non-executive director of the airline.[18]

Book

It Takes a Tsunami (2022), published by Mercury.[19]

Community positions

In 2010 Levitt was appointed as the Chairman of YAD.[20] He was appointed a trustee of the Rambam Trust, a board member of Glendale care services and the United Jewish Campaign. Levitt is the founding trustee of the Red Circle Trust, which focuses on entrepreneurial educational development.

References

  1. ^ a b "On the fall of the hammer". The South African. 10 August 2013. Archived from the original on 10 December 2013.
  2. ^ "Absa Bank Ltd". Absa Bank Ltd. Archived from the original on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Realised vision. WHAT IT MEANS". Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  4. ^ "Auction Group Luanches". Independent Newspapers. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Business Day". businesslive.co.za. Archived from the original on 17 December 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  6. ^ "South Africa: Property Boosts Auction Industry". All Africa. 2 December 2005.
  7. ^ "Major BEE deal signed under Property Charter". mg.co.za. 4 May 2006. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  8. ^ Kamhunga, Sure (16 July 2008). "Transaction Capital acquires 31% of Alliance". BusinessLIVE. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  9. ^ "Auction group may face fine of R30m". iol.co.za. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  10. ^ Ny'Mumbo, Agola (28 May 2023). "It Takes A Tsunami: A Compelling Tale of Survival, Redemption, and Human Resilience". U Spiked. p. 1.
  11. ^ "Pomegranate Farms". uff.co.za. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  12. ^ "Pomegranates" (PDF). sapomegranate.co.za. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  13. ^ Wilson, Nick (27 March 2022). "Inofort has big plans for 'last-mile' logistics". The Sunday Times. p. 1. Archived from the original on 3 April 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  14. ^ Anderson, Alistair (20 August 2020). "Q&A Rael Levitt: Making industrial space more flexible". Business Day. Archived from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  15. ^ Bizcommunity, Journalist (30 November 2021). "The Origins of Inospace". Bizcommunity. Archived from the original on 2 December 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  16. ^ "Auction Alliance's Rael Levitt returns to property arena". BusinessLIVE. Archived from the original on 17 December 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  17. ^ Mhlanga, Denise (6 August 2023). "Inospace launches e-commerce fulfilment warehouse in Cape Town". Business Day. p. 1.
  18. ^ Smith, Carin (11 December 2021). "Flexibility helped SA's youngest airline celebrate one year, says CEO". News24. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  19. ^ Sinxo, Zolani (26 November 2022). "'It Takes a Tsunami': A story of downfalls and success". IOL.
  20. ^ "New chairman at the head of YAD" (PDF). Cape Jewish Chronicle. Vol. 28, no. 2. March 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015.
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