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Business Plan Africa Investor-Ready Plans

Khanya Cold Chain Business Plan

Investor-ready cold storage business plan: R108.39m funding, 4,500 pallet positions in Ekurhuleni, Year 5 revenue R84.1m at a 31.9% EBITDA margin.

Khanya Cold Chain — multi-temperature pallet racking across frozen, chilled and ambient zones with rooftop solar
Business Plan & Investment Proposal · Elandsfontein, Ekurhuleni

Cold Chain Logistics & Cold Storage Business Plan — South Africa

Khanya Cold Chain · The Energy Strategy Makes The Margin. Filling The Building Makes The Business.

A multi-temperature cold store and regional refrigerated distribution start-up at
Elandsfontein, Ekurhuleni — 4 500 pallet positions across 4 200 m², of which 2 600 are
frozen at −25°C, 1 500 chilled at 0–5°C and 400 ambient, commissioning 1 March 2027.
Total funding of R108 390 000: R56.39 million equity, R34.0 million senior debt, an
R18.0 million DFI tranche and a R12.0 million standby revolver.

R108.39mTotal funding
4 500Pallet positions
R84.1mYear 5 revenue
31.9%Year 5 EBITDA margin

Read the executive summary →

The plan states its own logic in two sentences on the cover, and both halves are
load-bearing. Refrigerated storage runs on electricity, so energy is the largest controllable operating cost and an
escalating tariff is the principal threat to margin — solar and storage answer that, and the proof is in the
model: the electricity line actually falls in Year 2, from R2.45 million to R2.34 million, while occupancy
climbs from 46 to 68 per cent. But energy only protects the margin. What creates the business is filling
4,500 pallet positions, because a cold store with an empty rack earns nothing and costs nearly as much to keep cold
as a full one. Break-even sits at 63.9 per cent occupancy against a Year 3 plan of 79. EBITDA is positive from
Year 1; profit after tax is not, until Year 3, because depreciation and interest on a R108 million build sit
below that line.

The plan at a glance

Six measures that determine whether this facility and its funding stand up.

R108.39mTotal funding requirementR56.39m equity at 52%, R34.0m senior debt, an R18.0m DFI tranche and a R12.0m standby revolver committed at first close.
4 500Pallet positions2,600 frozen at −25°C, 1,500 chilled at 0–5°C and 400 ambient across 4,200 m² at Elandsfontein.
63.9%Break-even occupancyAgainst a Year 3 plan of 79%. Filling the building is the commercial task the whole investment rests on.
31.9%Year 5 EBITDA marginFrom 5.0% in Year 1. Once the building is full, a cold store is a high-margin fixed-cost asset.
R3.93mYear 5 electricity costOn R84.1m of revenue. Electricity actually falls in Year 2 despite rising occupancy — that is the solar strategy working.
18.2%Project IRRWith debt service cover climbing from 0.22x in Year 1 to 2.55x by Year 5. Year 1 is carried by the standby revolver.

Two forces, and what each one does

What protects the margin against what actually creates the business — the distinction the plan draws on its own cover.

EnergyMakes the marginRefrigeration runs on electricity, and tariffs only rise. Solar and storage turn the single largest operating cost into a fixed, owned one — which is why the cost falls in Year 2 while occupancy rises.
but
OccupancyMakes the businessBreak-even needs 63.9% of 4,500 positions filled. A cold store with an empty rack earns nothing and costs almost the same to run.

Five years of trading

Revenue and EBITDA on the base case. Occupancy ramp and the electricity tariff are the two assumptions that matter most, and both are stressed in Section 12.

Revenue build, and the occupancy behind it

Revenue is pallet positions sold plus distribution. Occupancy climbs from 46% to 88% of 4,500 positions — break-even needs 63.9%, which the store only clears during Year 2.

Year 1

R28.3m · 46% full
Year 2

R47.3m · 68%
Year 3

R62.8m · 79%
Year 4

R74.9m · 85%
Year 5

R84.1m · 88%

EBITDA and margin

EBITDA is positive from Year 1 and the margin settles at 31.9%. Profit after tax is still negative until Year 3, because depreciation and interest on a R108m build sit below the EBITDA line.

Year 1

R1.42m · 5.0%

Year 2

R12.11m · 25.6%
Year 3

R19.06m · 30.4%
Year 4

R23.91m · 31.9%
Year 5

R26.82m · 31.9%

Why this plan works the way it does

1
Energy is the cost that decides the marginRefrigeration is electricity. Solar and storage convert an escalating tariff into a largely fixed, owned cost — which is why the electricity line falls in Year 2 even as occupancy climbs from 46% to 68%.
2
Occupancy is the cost that decides the businessBreak-even needs 63.9% of 4,500 pallet positions filled. An empty rack earns nothing and costs almost as much to keep cold as a full one, so the commercial plan carries the entire investment.
3
EBITDA is positive from Year 1; profit is notThe margin reaches 5.0% in the first year and 31.9% by Year 4. Profit after tax stays negative until Year 3 because depreciation and interest on a R108 million build sit below the EBITDA line.
4
Year 1 debt service is covered by the revolverCover is 0.22 times in Year 1, rising to 2.55 by Year 5. The R12 million standby facility committed at first close exists precisely to bridge that year.
5
Three temperature zones, three different markets2,600 frozen, 1,500 chilled and 400 ambient positions serve customers with different needs, contract lengths and rates. The zoning is a commercial decision, not just an engineering one.

Financial snapshot

Four charts from the plan. The full set of twenty-four appears throughout the sections below.

Capital expenditure by category
Figure 9. Capital expenditure by category.
Distribution economics — fully absorbed cost per kilometre against the rate achieved
Figure 12. Distribution economics — fully absorbed cost per kilometre against the rate achieved.
Cost structure as a percentage of revenue
Figure 13. Cost structure as a percentage of revenue.
Balance sheet — asset composition
Figure 16. Balance sheet — asset composition.

Contents

Sixteen sections and six appendices. Every page carries full navigation, a section outline and links to the sections either side of it.


!
Important Notice and Basis of PreparationBasis of preparation, data sources and forward-looking statement caveats. Please read first.

Appendices
Confidential. This document is provided for the purpose of evaluating an
investment in Khanya Cold Chain and may not be reproduced or distributed without written consent. Projections are
forward-looking statements based on the assumptions registered in Section 15 and are not guarantees of future
performance.