From luxury lodges to hotels, warehouses, factories, hospitals, retail centres, and commercial buildings, Mike Buyskes Construction is recognised for the quality of its work, proactive involvement in contracts, and timely completion of projects, as we find out from Managing Director, Jayson Buyskes.
WITH PASSION FROM PRETORIA
The construction industry in the Southern Africa region is vibrant, with a lot of big opportunities starting to take shape.
This is especially the case in the tourism and retail sectors in the form of lodges and shopping centres.
“Recent trends that are emerging in addition to the above are most certainly high-rise and mixed-use residential in the Western Cape region of South Africa (SA), given space in Cape Town is limited,” notes Jayson Buyskes, Managing Director of Mike Buyskes Construction (MBC).
Based in Pretoria, the administrative capital of SA, MBC specialises in commercial and retail spaces, as well as commercial tourism and lodges as a specialist niche offering.
Although the company has worked on two commercial lodges in Southern Zambia in recent years, SA remains MBC’s core focus as it works throughout the country in all provinces.
Its customer base is also very consistent with regards to repeat work with the same clients.
“I would say about 80 percent of our annual turnover for the past 10 years has come from three or four loyal clients,” reveals Buyskes.
FAMILY CULTURE
MBC was founded in 1972 by Buyskes’ late father, Mike, and is inherently family-owned, meaning he has always had an interest in the building trade from an early age.
Growing up, Buyskes would stay on building sites and visit commercial sites with his father, and it soon dawned on him that the industry was really interesting and stimulating.
“I then worked in the UK after school at Heathrow Terminal 5 and various other construction sites around the UK for two different companies over a 12-month period,” Buyskes informs us.
“I returned and studied at the University of Pretoria and graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Construction Management in 2008, before joining MBC full-time the following year.”
MBC is driven by family values and differentiated by its family culture, which cultivates value in employee relationships and pride in the workplace.
“We are far more adaptable to a changing environment and seen as very proactive and engaging with professional teams and developers,” he acclaims.
LUXURY LODGES
Buyskes is keen to showcase a number of projects that MBC has constructed, including Lolebezi Lodge in Zambia.
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Completed in May 2022, the lodge is located on the banks of the Zambezi River in the Lower Zambezi National Park – a remote and exclusive African setting.
Adorned with acacia trees, Lolebezi Lodge’s architectural philosophy is rooted in contemporary style and African heritage. It comprises eight guest suites, a main guest area, gym, spa, and staff village with eight outbuildings.
The lodge is a grand display of opulent splendour, complete with artwork that pays tribute to local culture and craftsmanship, whilst natural textures and tones woven throughout only stand to enhance its beautiful surroundings.
Another lodge MBC built is Melote House, a pristine oasis of luxury and exclusivity in the Lapalala Wilderness Reserve in Limpopo, SA.
Each room is meticulously designed for comfort and relaxation, with contemporary furnishings, premium, bedding, and tasteful décor that immerse guests in sophistication.
Due to the scale, complexity, and access to the works, MBC purchased its first ever mobile, all-terrain Fiori concrete mixer to traverse the terrain with ease and ensure the best results when casting the slab structures.
Occasionally accompanied by lions, rhinos, and the like, MBC had to put strict protocols in place for the safety and security of its team and the wildlife in the reserve.
COMMERCIAL AND RETAIL SPACES
Lodges aside, the company has built Westend Building C and follow-on project, Westend Building D, for Abland. Both office blocks were designed and built on a solid raft foundation structure.
The former, which was one of the fastest projects MBC has ever completed, included three basement levels, four office levels, and a full Penetron-based roofs lab. For Westend Building D, MBC also did a full tenant improvement (TI) fit-out for Sanlam.
In the same office precinct, MBC has additionally constructed Westend Building E and is now in the process of completing Westend Building F for Abcon.
The company has had a little more time to complete the latter, however it requires a full TI fit-out in addition to the construction of the office block, which has made it challenging.
MBC has also constructed the Mbhashe LG Mall in the town of Dutywa in the Eastern Cape. The mall was recently opened in March 2025, with over 60 stores providing exceptional grocer, banking, fashion, and food options to the area.
Developed to enhance economic growth and accessibility, Mbhashe LG Mall is set to become a central shopping hub in the region, which has historically had very limited retail options available.
The development will therefore play a key role in enhancing the retail landscape, stimulating the local economy, and creating valuable local job opportunities. Mbhashe LG Mall was built for long-standing client McCormick Property Development, who MBC has now constructed more than 15 malls for.
Elsewhere, in the town of Ermelo in Mpumalanga, the Merino Mall presents an unmatched shopping experience, with a strong fashion component, banking facilities, food outlets, and other exciting offerings.
Built on the historic Ermelo showgrounds, the 90-store Merino Mall pays tribute to the site’s heritage – a place that has always been central to community life in the area – with the original barn structures a key design feature of the building and local artwork adorning its walls.
The Merino Mall also incorporates answers to current socioeconomic challenges with its own solar photovoltaic (PV) plant that produces green energy. It can also trade during loadshedding and even has a sewage treatment plant that recycles grey water back into the building.
All this combines to make a meaningful contribution to the community and manage environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors.
MBC is additionally building Garden Walk, an upmarket convenience-driven shopping centre, for its client Moolman Group.
Set to become a standout retail and lifestyle destination, Garden Walk is located in the popular coastal town of Hartenbos in the Western Cape province and will be MBC’s first project in this area.
QUALITY OVER PRICE
With such an impressive portfolio of projects to showcase, Buyskes emphasises how MBC values the suppliers and subcontractors it has built long-term relationships with over the years.
“Quality over price is a key driver as it relates to the product, service delivery, and most importantly, after-sales service. We often negotiate our future pipeline of work with suppliers and subcontractors to better retain their services long-term,” he outlines.
Equally, every staff member at MBC is treated as a person with a name, rather than simply a number in a big organisation.
“We provide management with decision-making powers that are usually not within their mandate per se,” Buyskes shares.
“We focus on skills development and transfer within the workplace by pairing mentors with less experienced personnel to fast-track their progress and gains, giving them confidence.”
MBC aims to consolidate, invest, and strengthen its footprint going forwards, with the company on track to reach 100 percent capacity by the end of this year.
“Including the procurement of future work well into the end of 2026, we are currently at 60 percent of this target,” concludes Buyskes.
