Val de Vie Estate

Did You Know?

• Val de Vie Estate is home to the 'Safest House in Africa'.
• An open-air concert by Andrea Bocelli and the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra at the estate drew an audience of 12,000.

History

The land was originally granted by the Governor of the Cape to French Huguenot Abraham Andries le Roux in 1783. Founder Martin Venter purchased the property in 2003, and the first homes were completed in 2007. In 2016, African Rainbow Capital acquired a 20% stake in Val de Vie Investments. In 2015, Val de Vie and partners acquired the adjacent Pearl Valley Golf & Country Estate, including its Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, from Standard Bank after Pearl Valley entered business rescue.

Awards

In 2016, the Valentia Manor House won Best Single Unit Residential Development in Africa at the International Property Awards in Dubai. The estate was named Best Multigenerational Resort in the World in 2018. At the 2020 International Property Awards, it won Best Residential Development in South Africa, and Val de Vie Evergreen won Best Leisure Development in Africa. In 2021, Val de Vie won both Best Leisure Development in the World and Best Residential Development in South Africa.

Sports

The Val de Vie Polo Club is the most active polo club in Africa, with three international-standard polo fields. The estate hosts the annual Veuve Clicquot Masters Polo Cape Town and was the venue for the sixth Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup, in which Prince Harry participated. In 2017, Val de Vie became the official Grand Finale venue for the Absa Cape Epic, the largest full-service mountain bike stage race in the world and the only eight-day UCI hors catégorie mountain bike stage race.

Foundation

The Val de Vie Foundation, formally established in July 2015, is funded by 1% of all property sales from the developer and 2.5% of monthly levies. By its 10th anniversary in 2025, it had contributed over R50.1 million to local initiatives, benefiting more than 47,000 individuals. Key programmes include the Elevation Programme, which has assisted over 1,200 unemployed youth with mentorship and training; Hope Through Action, which runs sport and education programmes in Mbekweni, Franschhoek, and Malmesbury; Khula Development Group, which reintegrates at-risk learners across 22 schools; and Mosaic Community Development, which supports orphaned and vulnerable children.

Between 2017 and 2019, the Foundation invested R13.4 million in 40 organisations. By 2023, Val de Vie Estate had injected approximately R34.6 billion into the Drakenstein economy and supported 51,000 indirect and 18,900 permanent jobs.