Wikus Lategan and Wayne Williams, the property development duo behind ION Holdings and the former CEO and Group Executive Director at JSE-listed Calgro M3, have added hospitality to their portfolio with the launch of Zomerlust Boutique Hotel and SMEUL Restaurant in Paarl.
South African property developers Lategan and Williams have opened Zomerlust Boutique Hotel, bringing the same problem-solving discipline and people-first philosophy that has defined their careers to their new project. With decades of large-scale development between them, the pair has applied their deep knowledge and abilities to a 15-room luxury property and fire-driven restaurant by an award-winning chef in the Cape Winelands.
Wikus Lategan, former CEO of JSE-listed Calgro M3, where he served for 16 years across roles including Financial Director, Group Managing Director, and CEO from 2017 to 2024, and business partner Wayne Williams, former Group Executive Director at Calgro M3, opened Zomerlust Boutique Hotel and SMEUL Restaurant in May 2026. The duo are the founders of ION Holdings, a private property development vehicle, with Zomerlust their first foray into hospitality.
The property on the famously long Main Road in Paarl is a Provincial Heritage Site, with the earliest recorded structure on the site dating to 1792. Initially the pair had plans to develop the property on a residential basis, including renovating the existing hotel to be commercially let. However, the historical substance and commercial opportunity in a region where tourism is a consistent economic driver, convinced them to undertake a comprehensive refit, a refurbishment of existing historical features using local craftsmen and new interiors befitting of the building.
While an extensive endeavour, Zomerlust is a comparatively small project for the pair. Through ION Holdings, Lategan and Williams remain active across property development at scale. Their current flagship project Vorentoe, is a large-scale student housing project adjacent to the University of Johannesburg. Having acquired the land rights, ION Holdings’ Vorentoe will include approximately 2 000 beds across multiple phases and an estimated completion value of between R800 million and R1 billion. The development planning process is currently underway with the full build-out expected to deliver one of the more significant privately funded student accommodation projects in Johannesburg in recent years.
“When it comes to our latest Cape project, the naysayers will say we know nothing about hospitality – but sound business principles apply across industries,” says Lategan. “In property development, you are a problem solver, and the developer who solves them in the shortest amount of time and most efficiently is the most successful. We’ve brought that same thinking here.”
The intense restoration and refurbishment of the building was undertaken over approximately 6 months with its heritage layers carefully considered and adhered to, guided by multiple assessments and ultimately approved by Heritage Western Cape. Fifteen individually designed rooms by interior designer Misi Overturf draw from the Boland’s layered palette, with bespoke details throughout and no two rooms the same. Every detail of the hotel property’s construction, restoration and fit out has been through the pair’s fastidious eyes, with each spending weeks on site over the build. Their owner-run focus extends to the hotel since opening. They are seen in and around the hotel weekly and even on the restaurant floor on any given evening. “Guests like to see owners on the ground. It’s something that is important to us both when we visit small hotels and now as owners of one,” says Williams.
SMEUL is an essential element of this hospitality endeavour, and the pair have collaborated with Paarl local Kevin Grobler. Former Head Chef at Michelin-starred JAN in Nice, Grobler achieved an Eat Out One Star at Vrymansfontein in Suid-Agter Paarl within one year of its operation. With stints at the likes of Delaire Graaff in Stellenbosch, he is a popular and motivated culinary force.
His restaurant is fire-driven, with all cooking on wood-fired stoves and over open flames, a purposeful reference to authenticity in his craft and a nod to the building’s historical context. SMEUL, meaning ‘smoulder’ in Afrikaans, speaks directly to the Paarl context and the methods at its heart. Since opening in mid-May, the restaurant has been consistently busy and has already garnered an excellent base of regulars. “We knew Paarl wanted something new in the dining arena and it’s been heartwarming to see everyone’s commitment here pay off,” says Lategan.
While occupancies and restaurant bookings are at the heart of what will make this new project a success, Lategan and Williams bring something deeper to their endeavours, something many of their longstanding staff will attest to – an unusually deep commitment to staff culture and fairness. “The most important capital within any organisation is its people,” says Williams. “That belief doesn’t change whether you’re delivering thousands of homes or running a 15-room hotel. We create environments where people can grow, are remunerated above market average, and share in the success of what we build together. You build the culture first, and the business follows.”
For Lategan, the conviction runs deeper still and extends beyond the balance sheet into the broader challenge of inequality in South Africa. “If we are in a position to create jobs, we must do so intentionally. We must create meaningful opportunities where people can grow, earn with dignity, and build better futures for themselves and their families. Uplifting people is not a side initiative for us. It is central to how we measure success,” says Lategan, who credits his grandfather with this conviction. “He always said that without your people, there can be no business, and that has stayed with me in every decision I’ve made.”
It is a philosophy forged over years of development at scale and one that found an unexpected new expression in a 200-year-old building on Paarl’s Main Road.
