GRAHAME LINDOP

Grahame Lindop was born in the United Kingdom and came to South Africa in 1957. He was educated at Michaelhouse in KwaZulu-Natal and, thereafter, he studied law at the Universities of the Witwatersrand and Edinburgh. He joined the Anglo American Corporation of South Africa as a management trainee in 1967.

Grahame was transferred to the company’s Property Division in 1969 as a member of the initial team to develop the Carlton Centre. He subsequently moved to Durban for four years where he gained experience in development, sales and marketing, before returning to Johannesburg in 1974 to head up the company’s property leasing division.

Following the company’s merger with Townsview Estates, he held various senior positions before being appointed Director of Leasing in 1987. In 1993 he established and became Managing Director of Anglo American Property Trading (AMTRAD), a specialised commercial property development company. The company subsequently established subsidiaries in the leisure and infrastructure sectors of the property industry. In 1999, Amtrad formed Amtrad Africa Developments (A.A.D.) a joint venture with empowerment company, Africa Construction.

Following the disposal by Anglo American of its property interests, Grahame acquired the business opportunities and the trading name, Amtrad, with effect from 1 February 2002. Under Grahame’s control, Amtrad has focussed on being a development facilitator, initiating and co-ordinating projects, and as a consultancy giving advice and assistance on sales and marketing.

In 2002, Grahame helped to establish Ulwazi, as a company specialising in the development of interactive educational experiences. Today it is a leading consultancy in the field of science education outside the classroom.

Grahame has considerable experience in most aspects of property development, as well as considerable negotiating and fundraising skills. Over the past thirty years, he has been associated with many major developments, latterly including Gold Reef City Casino, Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication in Kliptown, Soweto and the first four star hotel in Soweto. He is currently leading a development team for the Bakgatla Ba Kgafela Tribe which is creating a Central Business District. housing and an eco estate on the fringe of the Pilanesberg National Park.

He is currently a director of:

He is also an Associate of Chartwell Housing Finance Solutions (Pty) Limited, a company established to enable a growing number of people in Africa to bridge the affordability gap and step onto the home ownership ladder.

Grahame has also played a leadership and fundraising role in a range of social and cultural interests, including the Market Theatre, Johannesburg, of which he was chairman for nine years until 1997 and the United World Colleges Scholarship Trust of South Africa, of which he was chairman for fourteen years until 2002. He also served on the Stadium Committee of Gauteng Cricket for 10 years until 2003, and is a patron of the French Institute of South Africa.

He is currently a board member of the National Arts Festival which is responsible for the Grahamstown Festival.