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Who’s doing what this week in the South African M&A space?

Marylou Greig
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Who’s doing what this week in the South African M&A space?

Exchange-Listed Companies

South African food manufacturer RCL Foods, has entered into an agreement with Simrose Overseas and Simrose Investments to acquire Martin and Martin which sells a variety of pet food products under well known brands such as Husky, Pamper, Beeno and Bob Martin. The deal gives RCL Foods entry into the pet food category, accelerating its presence in high-growth segments in which it currently has limited exposure. The acquisition consideration was determined as an enterprise value of R695 million.

Sirius Real Estate has acquired a business park in Kiel, Germany for €93,4 million. The purchase of the defence-anchored business park reflects an EPRA Net Initial Yield of 8.2%; it is 98.5% occupied and generates €7,78 million in annual rental income with a weighted average lease expiry of 4 years.

Reinet Investments has completed the disposal of its entire shareholding in Pension Insurance Corporation Group to Athora UK Holding for £2,9 billion, creating one of the largest savings and retirement services groups in Europe.

Unlisted Companies

Healthbridge a provider of cloud-based medical billing software and clinical practice management solutions in South Africa, has acquired AI medical scribe Nora. Nora is a smart, AI-powered tool that converts doctor–patient conversations into structured clinical notes, helping clinicians save time on paperwork while improving the quality and consistency of patient records. Healthbridge took an initial stake during Nora’s early start-up phase providing infrastructure, a clinical environment and an established user base to test the product at scale. The transaction’s financial details were not disclosed.

The integrated marketing and communications agency Ascent Africa has acquired a stake in Clarence AI. Clarence AI is an Africa-built narrative intelligence platform designed to help organisations monitor public narrative, analyse sentiment and manage digital engagement in real time. The move is designed to integrate advanced technology and intelligence into the agency’s modern communication and reputation management services. It will operate as a technology subsidiary within the Ascent Africa ecosystem as the agency continues to expand its integrated offering across Africa. Financial details were undisclosed.

DHL’s subsidiary DHL Supply Chain has expanded its transport, distribution and warehousing logistics services with the acquisition of the businesses Vital Distribution Solutions, Staffing Logistics and Vital Fleet. Vital Distribution provides transport, distribution, and warehousing logistics services by road across various sectors, including the fast-moving consumer goods, industrial, manufacturing, and retail markets. The Staffing Logistics business provides temporary employment services to the transport, retail, hospitality, and cleaning sectors while Vital Fleet provides fleet rental and management services.

Metals One has exercised its right to secure a 30% equity stake in Lions Bay Resources (LBR) via the conversion of US$1.8 million of convertible loan notes into direct equity. LBR recently completed the acquisition of a cogeneration plant located in the Karbochem Industrial Park in Newcastle as part of its wider strategy to create a vertically integrated South African gold business.

In February 2026 Lithium Africa Corp announced the acquisition of a large lithium project in SA, including a past-producing spodumene mine, a related ore stockpile and land hosting a known field of mapped LCT Pegmatites. The company has completed the first phase of the acquisition of Namli Exploration & Mining with the acquisition of a 30% stake and is now proceeding with the second phase of the transaction.

DealMakers is SA’s quarterly M&A publication.
www.dealmakerssouthafrica.com

Weekly corporate finance activity by SA exchange-listed companies

Marylou Greig
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Weekly corporate finance activity by SA exchange-listed companies

African Rainbow Minerals has purchased a further 7,960,000 units of Surge Copper in a non-brokered private placement. Each unit, priced at C$0.50, consists of one common share and one common share purchase warrant of Surge. Each warrant entitles the holder to purchase one additional common share at a price of C$1.00 per share for a period of three years. Following the purchase, ARM will own c.19.9% of the issued shares in Surge on a non-diluted basis.

Remgro and IHL are to restructure their shareholdings in Hirslanden AG and Mediclinic International which will see IHL owning 100% of the Swiss business, while Remgro will own 100% of Southern Africa. Effectively, each will hand the other control of the hospital groups in South Africa and Switzerland with the assets priced at equal values. Remgro and IHL will remain co-invested in the other healthcare interests in the Middle East and the UK. The US$950 million transaction has a long-stop date of end-September 2026.

CTSE- listed PK Investments has acquired a further 40 million MAS shares at R21.00 per share increasing its stake to c.42.5%.

In terms of its scrip dividend option to shareholders, Lighthouse Properties will issue 23,378,545 new shares in lieu of a final cash dividend, retaining R172,1 million in new equity.

AttBid, a vehicle representing Atterbury Property Fund (APF), I Faan and I Dirk, which made an offer to RMH shareholders earlier this month, acquired a further 3,42 million shares in on-market transactions this week. Following this, AttBid and APF hold 32.77% and 9.67% respectively, resulting in an aggregate of c.42.44% of the RMH shares in issue.

Shareholders approved the proposed restructure by Africa Bitcoin of its authorised and issued ordinary share capital by way of a sub-division of its ordinary share capital on a 3 for 1 basis. The purpose of this is to enhance the liquidity and marketability of the stock and broaden its exchange footprint with a potential migration to the JSE Main Board and participation on additional international trading platforms. In addition, the sub-division is expected to enhance the company’s flexibility in respect of future capital raising initiatives, strategic transactions and potential equity-based initiatives.

Sebata has advised that all work relating to the preparation of the FY2025 financial results is now complete and a set of Annual Financial Statements have been produced and will be released by 17 April 2026. The Board estimates that Sebata will be in a position to request the JSE to lift the suspension from August 2026.

Sail Mining (previously Chrometco) remains suspended due to the late publication of the annual financial statements for the years ended February 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 and the subsequent interim results. In December the company announced a conditional offer to repurchase, on a pro rata basis, all the issued shares in the company, excluding treasury shares at a price per share of R0.072. Simultaneously, the board advised the proposed termination of the listing from the AltX Board of the JSE. This remains conditional on the approval by shareholders of the delisting, the amendment to the company’s memorandum of incorporation and the approval of the Financial Surveillance Department of SARB.

RFG officially delisted from the JSE on 31 March 2026 following the announced acquisition of the company by Premier Group in October 2025.

This week the following companies announced the repurchase of shares:

During the month of March AIMIA repurchased and cancelled a total of 236,800 of its shares representing 0.3% of the company’s issued share capital. The shares were purchased at an average price of US$2.86 for an aggregate $677,004.

In a bid to optimise its capital structure and deliver enhanced value to shareholders, iOCO continued with the repurchase of shares in the open market. During the period 2 to 31 March 2026, a further 2,216,404 shares were repurchased at an average price per share of R4.03 for an aggregate R8,93 million. Repurchased shares are currently held as treasury shares.

Ninety One plc announced that it has extended its repurchase programme from 31 March 2026 to 3 June 2026. The shares will be purchased on the open market and cancelled to reduce the Company’s ordinary share capital.

GreenCoat Renewables has implemented a share buyback programme totalling €100 million over 12 months with a first tranche amounting to €25 million beginning on 5 March 2026 – representing 13% of the issued share capital. This week 2,445,327 shares were repurchased for and aggregate €1,79 million.

Anheuser-Busch InBev’s US$6 billion share buy-back programme continues. The shares acquired will be kept as treasury shares to fulfil future share delivery commitments under the group’s stock ownership plans. During the period 23 to 27 March 2026, the group repurchased 1,371,263 shares for €81,09 million.

In December 2025, British American Tobacco extended its share buyback programme by a further £1.3 billion for 2026. The shares will be cancelled. This week the company repurchased a further 472,369 shares at an average price of £43.83 per share for an aggregate £20,70 million.

During the period 23 to 27 March 2026, Prosus repurchased a further 2,643,733 Prosus shares for an aggregate €106,42 million and Naspers, a further 1,200,000 Naspers shares for a total consideration of R1,06 billion.

Three companies issued or withdrew a cautionary notice: Remgro, Efora Energy and TWK Investments.

DealMakers is SA’s M&A publication.
www.dealmakerssouthafrica.com

Who’s doing what in the African M&A and debt financing space?

Vanessa Aitken
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Who’s doing what in the African M&A and debt financing space?

DealMakers AFRICA

Amethis has acquired a majority stake in Côte d’Ivoire power security solutions group, ADEMAT from SPE Capital for an undisclosed sum. ADEMAT covers the entire value chain of power security solutions – from power generation, stabilisation and transformation, to procurement, installation, maintenance, technical assistance, consulting, training and rentals. SPE Capital invested back in April 2021.

Pan-African financial services group, Vista Group Holding, announced the acquisition of a 90% stake in the capital of Banque Agricole et Commerciale (BAC) in Chad. The bank is now integrated into the Group’s banking network and operates under the name Vista Bank Chad. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Bank of Kigali Plc has led a group of financial institutions including Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD), BPR Bank Rwanda, I&M Bank Rwanda, Ecobank Rwanda, and Access Bank Rwanda in a major telecom infrastructure financing agreement under Project Zorro, supporting the acquisition of 1,467 telecom tower sites now operated by Ishara Towers Rwanda, formerly IHS Rwanda. The deal represents one of the largest syndicated financing transactions of its kind in Rwanda and is expected to strengthen critical telecommunications infrastructure supporting mobile connectivity, internet access, and digital services nationwide.

Azule Energy has signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement with Etu Energias Block 14 B.V. for the sale of a 20% working interest in offshore Block 14 and a 10% working interest in Block 14K located in the Lower Congo Basin offshore Angola. The transaction is valued at up to US$310 million and includes deferred contingent payments of up to $115 million. In December 2025, Azule Energy signed an SPA with a consortium of Etablissements Maurel & Prom S.A. and BW Energy for the sale of the Interests following which Etu Energias exercised its pre-emption rights in relation to the interests. With the signing of the SPA with Etu Energias, the SPA with M&P and BWE dated 11 December 2025 is terminated. Chariot has part financed the Etu acquisition through providing deposit funds of $12 million and additional financing related transaction costs and in doing so has secured exposure to the economics associated with material oil production following completion of the acquisition. Shell Western Supply and Trading has provided an acquisition financing package in return for future offtake barrels. These facilities will be used to finance the final consideration payable on completion, which will be reduced by interim period adjustments. This funding combination ensures that the acquisition is fully financed and the Chariot funds will be repayable from future cashflows from the asset, after servicing the Shell facilities.

Oikocredit and the Global Climate Partnership Fund (GCPF) have provided a US$10 million debt facility to Sawa Energy, a developer and operator of commercial and industrial (C&I) solar and battery systems in East Africa. The facility will enable Sawa Energy to scale the rollout of distributed solar and battery systems for C&I clients, supporting businesses seeking reliable and cost-effective alternatives to grid electricity and diesel generation. The facility is expected to support the deployment of 35MW of solar capacity across 250 projects for C&I businesses in East Africa over the next 36 months.

GoSwap, a Morocco-based electric mobility startup, has secured seed funding from Azur Innovation Fund to scale its battery-swapping infrastructure across urban centres. With the new funding, GoSwap plans to expand its infrastructure within Casablanca and into new cities such as Marrakech, enhance compatibility across multiple electric vehicle models, and strengthen fleet management capabilities for logistics and last-mile delivery companies. The size of the funding was not disclosed.

DealMakers AFRICA is the continent’s quarterly M&A publication
www.dealmakersafrica.com

Say what you mean and mean what you say

Yaniv Kleitman and Roxanne Bain
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Say what you mean and mean what you say

Simulated transactions and working around statutes

What is a simulated transaction?

It is trite law that parties to a transaction may structure it to avoid a statute or a particular provision in a statute. Following a long line of cases, this principle was recently reiterated by the Supreme Court of Appeal in Uys N O and Others v National Credit Regulator and Another 2025 3 All SA 71 (SCA) at 19. Uys confirms that for a court to find that a transaction is simulated (and thus strike it down and uphold its true character), “the Court must be satisfied that there is a real intention, definitely ascertainable, which differs from the simulated intention”. Put differently, a court “must first be satisfied, on the available and admissible evidence, that there was some unexpressed or tacit agreement between the parties which was not reflected in the agreement”.

Take care to avoid the statute in question

In an attempt to work around a statute, transacting parties must make sure that their creative structure is not nevertheless still caught by the ambit or “gravitational pull” of the wording which they are trying to avoid. For instance, if the section sought to be avoided refers to, say, a “disposal” of something, the structure adopted by the parties must, in the first place, not be a disposal, as that word is understood in that context. For example, in Vantage Goldfields SA (Pty) Ltd & Another v Arqomanzi (Pty) Ltd & Others 2023 3 All SA 667 (SCA), the SCA held that a substantial shareholding dilution in the ultimate holding company of an entity that held a mining right, amounted to an “alienation or other disposal” of a controlling interest in mining rights under section 11 of the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPDRA), requiring Ministerial consent. There was no transfer of the mining right itself, nor a transfer of shareholding (which would be the more obvious and literal examples of “disposal”), but rather a fresh issue of shares at holding company level. The court read section 11 purposively to catch both direct and indirect changes of control so that the MPDRA’s objectives could not be thwarted.

Another interesting example is Four Arrows Investments 68 (Pty) Ltd v Abigail Construction CC and Another 2016 (1) SA 257 (SCA), where it was held that “sale” (as used in the Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act) included the granting of an option. Thus, even if it were a perfectly valid and genuine option contract and not a simulated sale, it did not assist the parties because, quite simply, “sale” was wide enough to cover preliminary contracts like options anyway.

Holistic approach

A related point is that a court will characterise a complex and multi-step deal by its overall economic substance, and will look holistically at the transaction in doing so. In Africa Wide Mineral Prospecting and Exploration (Pty) Ltd v PTM (RSA) (Pty) Ltd and Others 2023 (1) SA 98 (GJ), the transaction under scrutiny involved a share sale by way of a scheme of arrangement, with an asset sale (processing plant) taking place immediately prior in order to quickly inject liquidity into the target company in question. Attempts to characterise the asset sale as a stand-alone transaction (which would have triggered a “sale of substantially all assets” minority protection in the shareholders agreement) were rejected by the court. It was held that the transaction was, in truth, a two phase plan aimed at a change of share ownership implemented via a scheme of arrangement. A court will therefore compare the pre- and post-transaction picture, not just ‘step labels’.

One can demonstrate the reasoning in Africa Wide by applying it to an example sometimes floated in practice: first, a company disposes of its business to a wholly owned subsidiary to invoke the carve out from the requirement of shareholder approval in terms of section 112 of the Companies Act. Then, the subsidiary immediately issues a significant number of shares to an external investor. A court, applying the Africa Wide lens, would likely test whether, in substance, this was really a “disposal to a wholly owned subsidiary” when looking at the end state of affairs.

This example is sometimes confused with simulation but, in actuality, it is not. A court may accept each step as legally effective, yet still hold that, taken together, the arrangement is nevertheless caught by the relevant section’s wording. Simulation, by contrast, asks whether the parties’ real intention departs from the contract’s tenor. If you have genuinely avoided the statutory wording, your remaining vulnerability is simulation. That is a separate matter, and requires indicators of dishonesty or a contrived structure devoid of commercial substance. We now turn to this question.

The NWK case: brief panic for dealmakers

In the case of Commissioner for SARS v NWK Ltd 2011 (2) SA 67 (SCA), the SCA concluded that a R96 million “loan” was, in truth, a R50m loan dressed up through same day maize forwards, back to back cessions and a notarial exchange of silo certificates, five minutes apart. These features showed no genuine intention to deliver maize, and no sensible business purpose. On that evidence, the SCA held that the R96m loan was simulated.

Inter alia, the following remark in NWK caused some consternation: “If the purpose of the transaction is only to achieve an object that allows the evasion of tax, or of a peremptory law, then it will be regarded as simulated.” This confusion has been cleared up in later cases, where the SCA has, on several occasions, held that NWK did not alter the law on simulated transactions. All NWK did was to emphasise that all relevant facts had to be considered, and that the presence of multiple improbable and artificial intra-day transaction steps was evidence of dishonesty or disguise.

It remains the case, therefore, that parties are perfectly entitled to take the scenic route around a statute, provided there is commercial sense and the agreement reflects their true intention. And whilst the structure in NWK would almost universally be described as “convoluted”, the convolutedness of a transaction is not, of itself, a problem. Rather, NWK’s facts were convoluted and unrealistic, and devoid of any commercial substance, and it is then that the line is crossed and the realms of simulation are entered.

Yaniv Kleitman is a Director and Roxanne Bain a Professional Support Lawyer in Corporate and Commercial | Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr

This article first appeared in DealMakers, SA’s quarterly M&A publication.

DealMakers is SA’s M&A publication.
www.dealmakerssouthafrica.com

Africa’s digital backbone

Khanyisile Malebe and Nomsa Sibanyoni
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Africa’s digital backbone

The infrastructure behind Africa’s digital future

The global economy is being reshaped by rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing and digital services. At the centre of this transformation lies an often-invisible but critical layer of infrastructure: data centres and high-capacity fibre networks. Data centres – warehousing computer servers that store, process, and transmit data – have become the backbone of the modern digital economy.

While global investment in digital infrastructure has accelerated, Africa currently accounts for less than 1% of global data-centre capacity. This disparity highlights both a structural weakness and a compelling opportunity. As Africa’s digital adoption accelerates, scalable, reliable and locally based data infrastructure is no longer optional; it is essential to economic competitiveness, financial inclusion and long-term growth.

The challenge: soaring digital demand and insufficient infrastructure

Africa’s demand for digital services is growing at unprecedented speed, and mobile connectivity has been a key driver of this shift. As of January 2024, mobile devices accounted for approximately 74% of all web traffic on the continent – around 14% higher than the global average. This reflects both the affordability and accessibility of mobile connections relative to fixed-line broadband, reinforcing Africa’s mobile-first digital ecosystem.

At the same time, the continent’s internet user base is expanding rapidly. Internet users grew from approximately 181 million in 2014 to around 646 million by 2025, with projections indicating that this figure could reach 1,1 billion by 2029. This surge is fuelling demand for digital content, fintech platforms, e-commerce, cloud-based services, and data-intensive applications such as AI.

However, the pace of infrastructure development has struggled to keep up. Limited local data-centre capacity forces reliance on offshore hosting, increasing latency, costs and regulatory risk. Fibre networks remain unevenly distributed, and power reliability continues to constrain expansion. Without accelerated investment, these bottlenecks risk slowing Africa’s digital momentum and undermining the scalability of its fastest-growing sectors.

The opportunity: a new infrastructure asset class emerges

Despite these constraints, Africa is making progress. The continent is seeing steady growth in Tier III and Tier IV data centres across key markets. While Tier I and II facilities offer basic or partial redundancy, Tier III sites provide fully maintainable power and cooling paths, and Tier IV facilities deliver full fault tolerance and maximum uptime. This shift toward enterprise-grade infrastructure is essential for supporting cloud computing, fintech platforms, AI workloads, and other mission-critical digital services.

The commercial case is particularly strong in fintech. According to BDO’s June 2024 Fintech in Africa report, innovation across the sector is accelerating, with Northern Africa currently leading, and Egypt alone accounting for 9.6% of new fintech start-ups. Driven by markets such as South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Kenya, Africa’s fintech sector is projected to reach an estimated US$65 billion in revenue by 2030, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of approximately 32%. As these platforms scale across borders, their dependence on secure, resilient, and locally hosted data infrastructure increases.

The solution: capital, capability and coordinated policy

Unlocking Africa’s digital infrastructure potential requires a coordinated response across three dimensions: investment, skills and energy.

First, sustained capital deployment is essential. Recent investments signal growing confidence in the sector. The International Finance Corporation’s US$100 million commitment to Raxio Group, for example, is aimed at expanding data-centre capacity to support AI, cloud computing and digital financial services across sub-Saharan Africa.

Second, infrastructure development must be matched with skills development. Scaling data centres requires engineers, operators and digital professionals capable of managing complex, high-availability environments. Building this talent pipeline is critical to long-term sustainability.

Third, energy availability remains decisive. Data centres are power-intensive assets, and markets with reliable, cost-effective and renewable energy sources are best positioned to attract investment. Integrated infrastructure models offer a compelling solution. Uganda’s Buheesi project – co-financed by the World Bank, development finance institutions, and two South African commercial banks – combined electrification with fibre connectivity. The results were tangible: schools gained access to digital learning, clinics submitted real-time health data, and public services became more efficient.

The broader socio-economic impact is equally compelling. A 2023 World Bank report found that in Nigeria and Tanzania, expanded internet coverage sustained over three or more years reduced extreme poverty by approximately 7%, while labour-force participation and wage employment increased by up to 8%.

The enabling framework

Regulatory alignment is reinforcing the case for local infrastructure. Governments across Africa are strengthening data-protection and localisation frameworks to ensure that sensitive data remains within national borders. For example, South Africa’s National Data and Cloud Policy requires government data linked to national security to be stored on locally based infrastructure; Kenya’s data-protection regime mandates local hosting for personal data tied to strategic state interests; and Zambia’s Data Protection Act similarly restricts offshore storage of certain personal data.

These measures reflect a broader shift toward digital sovereignty, reducing reliance on foreign cloud providers and increasing demand for domestic data-centre capacity. In parallel, several jurisdictions are moving toward clearer and more streamlined licensing and approval processes for digital infrastructure, reducing regulatory uncertainty and shortening timeframes for market entry.

For investors and operators, greater regulatory clarity, both in data requirements and in licensing frameworks, would serve as a further enabler for investment and growth.

Building Africa’s digital utilities

Africa’s economic resilience and competitiveness are increasingly tied to the strength of its digital backbone. Data centres and high-capacity fibre networks are no longer peripheral assets. Instead, they are the continent’s new utilities, and must be supported by reliable energy infrastructure and coherent regulatory frameworks.

Investing in digital infrastructure is not merely a technology play. It underpins innovation, enables financial inclusion, supports job creation, and anchors Africa more firmly in the global digital economy. As capital, policy and capability converge, Africa’s digital infrastructure is emerging as one of the continent’s most compelling and impactful investment themes.

Khanyisile Malebe and Nomsa Sibanyoni are Corporate Financiers | PSG Capital


This article first appeared in DealMakers AFRICA, the continent’s quarterly M&A publication.

DealMakers AFRICA is a quarterly M&A publication
www.dealmakersafrica.com

Ghost Bites (African Rainbow Minerals | Datatec | Emira | Hyprop | Jubilee Metals | Master Drilling | RCL Foods | Remgro | Sephaku Holdings)

The Finance Ghost
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Ghost Bites (African Rainbow Minerals | Datatec | Emira | Hyprop | Jubilee Metals | Master Drilling | RCL Foods | Remgro | Sephaku Holdings)

More copper for African Rainbow Minerals (JSE: ARI)

They are investing more in Surge Copper Corp

African Rainbow Minerals is acquiring units in Surge Copper Corp. to the value of R48 million. They are paying C$0.50 per unit.

Each unit consists of a common share and a warrant entitling the holder to buy an additional share at C$1.00 per share. The warrant can be exercised for a period of three years from the date of issuance.

It’s worth noting that in September 2025, African Rainbow Minerals picked up 19.9% in Surge at a price of C$0.175 per common share. This was subsequently diluted to 18.2%.

The latest purchase will take them back up to a 19.9% stake on a non-diluted basis, or 21.5% on a partially-diluted basis (as they now also hold warrants).

Copper remains the commodity that everyone wants to dance with!

Datatec achieved double-digit growth in gross profit (JSE: DTC)

Detailed results are due for release in May

It’s unusual to see a company updating the market based on gross profit movements. But in the technology game, due to the way contracts are structured, it’s better to focus on this metric rather than revenue.

Datatec has guided that gross profit for the year ended February 2026 was up by around 10%. The star of the show was Westcon International (which also happens to be the largest segment), posting 13% growth in gross profit. Next up is Logicalis International, up 8%. Logicalis Latin America is the smallest segment and looks set to retain that position, with gross profit up by just 1%.

The share price is up 23% in the past year, so the market is well aware of Datatec’s growth potential.

Emira is on track in FY26 (JSE: EMI)

They’ve been recycling plenty of capital

Emira Property Fund released a pre-close update related to the year ending March 2026. The update provides numbers for the 10 months to January 2026.

In the South African direct portfolio, vacancies have increased from 3.8% in September 2025 to 4.5% at the end of January 2026. Reversions have improved though, from -4.7% to -3.7%.

The problem is the office portfolio, with a significant tenant vacating their space and driving vacancies up from 8.0% to 9.9%. Emira has a portfolio of P-grade and A-grade properties and they are flagging a “gradual recovery” in real rental growth in the office space.

In retail, vacancies improved slightly to 4.5% and reversions were flat at 0.5%. The industrial portfolio reported vacancies of 1.3% (up from 0.4%) and reversions of -8.0%, an improvement from -8.8% in the interim numbers. There’s also a residential portfolio of 2,104 units located almost entirely in Gauteng. Vacancies were similar at 1.8%.

During the period, they sold commercial properties worth R479 million and residential properties worth R782 million.

Although not part of the SA direct portfolio, Emira has a stake in SA Corporate Real Estate (JSE: SAC). They’ve been selling this down based on the strength in that share price, realising proceeds of R189 million.

The US portfolio of retail centres reported vacancies of 2.4%, an improvement from 2.8%. They’ve been disposing of properties in this portfolio, with R782 million in properties offloaded during the period under review. Since the end of January, they’ve agreed to sell another two properties for R306 million.

In Poland, the DL Invest portfolio includes logistics, retail and mixed-use properties. The vacancy rate improved from 3.0% to 2.7%.

To add to a busy period, Emira has been involved in restructuring Inani Prop Holdings, in which it holds (and will continue to hold) a 20% stake. Inani is in trouble, with shareholders having to commit to cover any funding shortfalls.

With all these disposals, the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio improved from 35.6% to 34.1%. It will improve further based on the disposals since January.

The targeted distributable income for FY26 is 127.78 cents. The fund believes that it is “on track” with its objectives, so that implies that they will meet this guidance.

Hyprop has sold 50% in Woodlands Boulevard (JSE: HYP)

This unlocks capital of R825 million

In February, Hyprop announced the sale of 50% of Woodlands Boulevard. It didn’t take very long to go through, with the deal being registered in the deeds office on 31 March.

This means they’ve reduced their exposure to Gauteng (a stated strategic goal) and put almost R825 million in the bank (before costs). Hyprop is planning to retain the remaining 50% stake in Woodlands Boulevard.

What will they do with the money? We don’t know yet. They just include the usual vague commentary about new and organic growth opportunities and other projects.

Jubilee Metals wants you to focus on EBITDA from continuing operations (JSE: JBL)

The copper strategy needs to pay off in the near-term

Jubilee Metals has released results for the six months to December 2025. Due to the significant changes in the group and the focus on copper, it’s best to look at the continuing operations.

Saleable copper units increased by 8.7% and they expect a further uplift in production at the Roan concentrator. Combined with strong average copper prices, Jubilee enjoyed an increase in copper revenue of 70.5%!

Copper EBITDA was up by 125.8% to $0.2 million vs. a loss of $0.8 million in the prior period. Therein lies the issue though: this is still such marginal profitability.

EBITDA from continuing operations swung from a loss of $2.9 million to profit of $2.0 million.

Thanks to the $19 million received from the sale of the South African chrome and PGM operations, they have a net cash position of $11.5 million. Although hindsight is perfect, the timing of Jubilee’s sale was such that shareholders missed out on the PGM boom. This puts even more pressure on the copper operations to perform.

Separately, the company announced an updated plan for the Molefe Mine. The Phase 2 drilling programme will commence soon.

Master Drilling’s HEPS moved slightly higher (JSE: MDI)

But there’s no dividend

Master Drilling released results for the year ended December 2025. In USD terms, revenue was up 7.8% and HEPS increased by 5.1%. In ZAR terms, HEPS was only up by 1.4%.

The group boasts a record pipeline of $997.8 million. For context, revenue for the year was $292 million, so this shows you the gap between pipeline and banked revenue. Somewhere in the middle, we find the “order book” – stable at $371.4 million.

Here’s the really interesting thing: although the requirements to pay a dividend have been met, the company has decided not to. They are worried about the global geopolitical situation. They are therefore deferring the dividend decision, with a promise to investors to pay a special dividend as soon as things calm down.

Uncertainty is unfortunately the nature of the beast at Master Drilling, as evidenced by the substantial reversal of a previous impairment on a mobile tunnel boring machine. They have to constantly estimate what the likely mining exploration activity will be across the world, a difficult job made even trickier by the specialist nature of some of the equipment.

RCL Foods is pursuing growth in pet foods (JSE: RCL)

Fur babies are driving growth in an important grocery category

RCL Foods has announced the acquisition of Martin and Martin, a South African company that sells numerous pet food products under brands like Husky, Pamper, Beeno and Bob Martin. These are household names and feature strongly in the pet aisle at your local grocery store.

Such is the modern world that the pet aisle is a more exciting source of growth than the baby aisle!

RCL literally talks about the “ongoing humanisation of pets” and a “community of pet parents” – a fancy way of saying that people keep spending more and more on their pets.

Interestingly, the seller is an offshore entity called Simrose, but there’s no disclosure on who the ultimate beneficial owners of the seller are. People clearly want their privacy when they are about to be paid a gigantic sum of money for their business.

How much? Well, the enterprise value of Martin and Martin is R695 million. EBITDA for the year ended December 2024 (quite outdated) was R75.2 million. Adjusted EBITDA for that period was R90.2 million. RCL is paying a pretty serious multiple for this business, but they are getting their hands on extremely well known brands.

There are a number of conditions precedent, including regulatory approvals. There’s no need for a shareholder vote though, as this is a Category 2 transaction.

What do you think of this deal?

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Doggos and dividends

Is RCL Foods on the right track here with pet food?

Remgro moves ahead with the Mediclinic deal (JSE: REM)

But the parties will continue to hold the Middle Eastern businesses 50-50

You may recall that a consortium of Remgro and IHL (a subsidiary of MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company) took Mediclinic private in 2023 on a 50-50 basis.

Mediclinic primarily has businesses in Switzerland, Southern Africa and the Middle East. There’s also a minority stake in UK-based Spire Healthcare.

The parties have been talking about restructuring their interests for a while. A deal has now been formally announced, with Remgro and IHL choosing to focus on their respective home markets.

IHL will own 100% of the Swiss business, while Remgro will have 100% of Southern Africa. Interestingly, these transactions are not inter-conditional, which tells you that the parties expect the implementation timelines to be different across the two regions. Despite having different effective dates, the settlement of purchase prices will happen simultaneously.

The Middle Eastern business will continue to be held 50-50. This doesn’t surprise me – there’s too much uncertainty in the region for a sensible negotiation around this asset to be possible. There’s a lot of corporate spin around how great the growth prospects are for this asset. That may well be true, but I can’t see how regional instability didn’t contribute to the parties maintaining the status quo.

The Spire Healthcare interest will also be kept on a 50-50 basis.

The Swiss and Southern Africa businesses are each valued at $950 million, so this is a straight swap. Remgro is handing over the keys to Switzerland and receiving them for Southern Africa. There’s a chance of some adjustments here that might lead to a payment in one direction or the other, but the underlying principle in the deal is that they are simply swapping exposures.

Here’s a fun fact though: the Swiss business has a book value of assets of R32 billion and the Southern African book value is R16.7 billion. The Swiss business only generates 60% of the profits of the Southern African business.

The book values are perhaps a poor indication of value. As for the profits, this shows you that the Swiss business is valued at a significantly higher multiple than Southern Africa.

Growth is hard to come by at Sephaku Holdings (JSE: SEP)

Infrastructure activity remains subdued

Sephaku Holdings has released an update on the performance at Dangote Cement (in which it has a 36% attributable interest) and wholly-owned subsidiary Métier.

They refer to Dangote Cement as SepCem, so I’ll do the same. This business has a December year-end, with profit for the year ended December 2025 down from R42.6 million to R24.5 million. Remember, Sephaku Holdings only suffers 36% of the drop.

This decrease at SepCem was thanks to a 4.5% decline in sales volumes and a 4.4% drop in revenue. EBITDA fell by 6.8%. Aside from weather issues, there is also fierce competition in the cement bag market, made worse by imports.

At Métier, with a March year-end, sales volumes were up just 2% for the 11 months to February 2026. Despite this, EBITDA has increased by over R30 million based on management accounts. That’s a material uplift in a company with a debt balance of R80 million!

Will infrastructure activity ever pick up in a meaningful way? And if it does, will local players actually get a slice of the action vs. importers? One wonders.

Nibbles:

  • Director dealings:
    • It probably won’t surprise you to learn that several directors of Lighthouse Properties (JSE: LTE) elected the scrip dividend alternative. This includes Des de Beer, who received a casual R104 million in shares in lieu of a cash dividend! This is how big money compounds over time.
    • The COO of Thungela (JSE: TGA) sold shares worth R5.7 million.
    • A senior executive at Sibanye-Stillwater (JSE: SSW) sold shares worth nearly R2 million.
  • The UK Financial Conduct Authority is going ahead with the implementation of a mandatory industry-wide consumer redress scheme related to automotive finance. This is bad news for FirstRand (JSE: FSR), with the company conducting a detailed financial analysis and promising to update shareholders next week.
  • Zeder (JSE: ZED) has released the circular dealing with the proposed disposal of Zaad Holdings for almost R1.4 billion. The independent expert has determined that the deal is fair and reasonable to shareholders. PSG Capital banked a casual R24 million advisory fee on this transaction! If you fancy some light reading for the long weekend, the 156-page circular is available here.
  • Merafe (JSE: MRF) is still working towards a sustainable tariff solution with Eskom. The company submitted a counterproposal to Eskom on 12 March. The termination date for that proposal has been extended to 7 April, as Eskom has asked for more time to clarify certain aspects of it.
  • Dis-Chem (JSE: DCP) announced that Stanley Goetsch is retiring from the board of Dis-Chem. As one of the founding directors of the company, he’s certainly earned that retirement!
  • Wesizwe Platinum (JSE: WEZ) released results for the six months to June 2025. Yes, they are still busy catching up. HEPS for that period was 13.2 cents, up from 8.88 cents in the restated prior period. They are looking to publish financials for the year ended December 2025 by no later than 30 April 2026. The announcement includes this rather embarrassing line: “In light of the restatement, the Board has advised management to regularly attend IFRS refresher training to further strengthen financial reporting expertise going forward.” Ouch.
  • Oando (JSE: OAO) announced a production sharing contract for Block KON 13 in Angola. Oando has a 45% participating interest and will serve as operator of the block. The company has been building a vertically integrated business in countries like Nigeria and Angola, with a vision to grow the upstream operations across Africa. The share price has very little local trade, so you can ignore a drop of 32% on the day. Only 3 shares actually traded!
  • Europa Metals (JSE: EUZ) recently delisted from the AIM market in London due to the company being classified as a cash shell. The company has released results for the six months to December 2025 that reflect net assets of $3.4 million. The results are prepared on a going concern basis, which means that the company is looking for opportunities to pursue.
  • Sebata Holdings (JSE: SEB) is currently suspended from trading. They need to release results for the year ended March 2025. The complexities around the failed Inzalo transaction have led to the delay. The technical work is done and the results are expected to be released by no later than 17 April 2026.
  • Sail Mining Group (JSE: SGP) has been suspended from trading since July 2022. They need to catch up on several years of financials. They are working on these audits and also pursuing a repurchase of shares and subsequent delisting.

Ghost Stories #99: Unleashing independent retail – the foundation of SPAR’s turnaround

The Finance Ghost
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Ghost Stories #99: Unleashing independent retail – the foundation of SPAR’s turnaround

Listen to the show using this podcast player:

Reeza Isaacs is the newly appointed CEO of SPAR. As hot seats go, this one is warmer than a freshly-baked bread at your local store.

With plenty of experience in difficult retail settings, Isaacs is excited for the challenge. He believes strongly in the independent retail model that forms the underpin of the SPAR wholesale business.

Through a focused strategy on Ireland and South Africa, SPAR is committed to getting the basics right and demonstrating the benefits of independent retail.

This podcast deals with topics like:

  • Management stability and long‑term commitment at SPAR.
  • Lessons from offshore activities and why Ireland is different.
  • The strengths and trade-offs of SPAR’s wholesale and independent retailer model.
  • SAP implementation failures and risk mitigation strategies.
  • Rebuilding retailer trust and loyalty, especially in KZN.
  • Online, on‑demand retail, and SPAR’s pragmatic participation strategy.
  • Margin recovery initiatives and operational self‑help levers.
  • Growth adjacencies, including pharmacy, pet care, and private label.

SPAR believes strongly in the value of Ghost Mail in the South African investment ecosystem. They have sponsored this podcast for readers, but I was allowed to ask whatever I wanted to ask. Please do your own research and do not treat this podcast as an endorsement of SPAR as an investment.

Full transcript:

The Finance Ghost: Welcome to this episode of the Ghost Stories podcast. I’m your host, the Finance Ghost. I am here today with Reeza Isaacs. He is moving from the CFO role to the CEO role at SPAR, a really interesting and very important company. 

I think I’ve said this a few times in Ghost Mail, but I have these very strong childhood memories of going to my local SPAR with my mom after school. I think it’s a company that really sits at the fabric of the South African consumer, and it certainly has for a very, very long time. 

So: a big responsibility. Obviously, a group that’s been through some very tough times in recent years. 

Reeza, you’ve bravely stepped up to take on that role. So congratulations. Let me start there.

Let me also just say that I am a SPAR shareholder, so I personally would love to see the share price go the other way, and hopefully it will. 

So, Reeza, welcome to the show and thank you for doing this so early in your new role.

Reeza Isaacs: Thank you very much.

The Finance Ghost: We’re going to deal with some really nice, meaty topics today, which I’m looking forward to, and we’re going to run through a variety of things. 

Let’s just start with the obvious one, which is the management changes in recent years. There have been a few of them. And from an investor perspective, what everyone loves to see is executives who are there for a long time and have a chance to actually roll out a strategy over several years. 

Because I don’t think anyone is under any illusions that it’s quick. Just walk in and wave a magic wand and turn a place around. That’s not how the real world works. 

So I think management commitment, and having you there for a long time, are quite important factors. Let’s perhaps just start there. From your perspective, you’ve taken this role; it’s clearly a hard job. 

Give us some thoughts around your commitment to this, and why you’ve done it. How long do you see yourself there for? I think investors will want to know that it’s going to be you on the other side of this call for a while.

Reeza Isaacs: So maybe just a bit of background. I’m a CA. I did my articles at Ernst & Young (EY). I spent 20 years at EY. I left as the managing partner of the Western Cape region, and one of my clients at the time was Woolworths. I left EY to join Woolworths as the Financial Director (FD). I spent 10 years at Woolworths. 

So, my stints in corporate and professional services have not been short stints. If I take on a particular challenge, I like to see it through. 

I joined just as the David Jones acquisition was being made. It was an interesting ride. I decided to take a break after 10 years, and after we disposed of David Jones. And through that time, we survived Covid…

It was, in a way, a very similar situation to the SPAR Group. We went from a situation of speculation around equity raise at the start of COVID, to resolving our balance sheet issues, the selling of David Jones, restructuring the debt and eventually buying our shares – 7.5% of our shares in issue – in the year-end of 2023. 

The SPAR story is an interesting one. I also do like a bit of a turnaround and underdog story – and if you look at SPAR, we had governance challenges, it’s had operational challenges with SAP, and of course, from a finance perspective, it’s had a balance sheet that needed restructuring, we needed to reduce debt. Very similar. We’re not paying a dividend at the moment.

I’d like to see it through. I’m not one to shirk responsibilities. I’d love to see SPAR back at its rightful place in corporate South Africa and in the retail space. We owe it to our retailers, to our shareholders.

The Finance Ghost: Yeah, I wasn’t joking at the beginning when I said it’s a big responsibility. There are a lot of people who rely on the SPAR business at various points in that chain, and certainly a lot of franchisees who have invested in building out these stores – and people who love shopping there. 

This is all stuff I’ve written in Ghost Mail many times, and I stand by it: a very good SPAR (in my opinion) is almost unbeatable as a shopping experience in grocery. I really do think it’s peak. 

So, thank you – that definitely gives some additional information around not just your level of commitment, but also the scars on your back. 

In terms of offshore, obviously the Woolworths – David Jones deal is unfortunately the poster child for how to get it wrong. When it comes to offshore acquisitions, I do think that South African investors have learned a lot, South African management teams have learned a lot. And unfortunately, SPAR has had their own offshore challenges. So let’s maybe talk about that a little bit. 

Poland was surely the worst. Switzerland wasn’t too far behind, but I was happy to see that there was a bit of an understanding of: “Look, your first loss is your best loss. Let’s get out of Switzerland while we can”. 

You’re currently in the process of disposing of AWG, that’s Applebee Westwood Group.

The one that you’re hanging onto – and this is maybe what’s more interesting for me because I don’t think a postmortem on what went wrong is of any use to investors – the thing that I’m interested in is the fact that you are hanging onto Ireland.

There must be good reasons why you believe that one is different to the others, where you’ve either shut them down in a very painful way or tried to get out in time, while it’s not too bad. So let’s deal with why you think Ireland is the one that it makes sense to keep out of all of these offshore investments.

Reeza Isaacs: It’s a really good business. There are positives and negatives for South African businesses owning offshore, probably more negatives. In our own case, it’s been Poland, it’s been Switzerland, and at the moment we’re obviously in the process of disposing of AWG. 

But Ireland itself – it’s a really good business. We’ve got a great team, it’s a diversified business, it’s got retail, it’s got wholesale, it’s food services. It delivers from a top-line point of view, from a gross margin perspective, it manages costs really, really well. It provides an underpin at the moment from a valuation point of view. 

And it’s not just diversification in Ireland itself, it’s also for the group: there is risk diversification, obviously in SA macro, and while we stabilise the SA operations, it provides an underpin.

It doesn’t require any funding, and it’s got sufficient headroom from a funding perspective. 

It also provides an example of a SPAR business (and people talk about the model being relevant and being challenged), but it provides an example of the SPAR business that we own that does really well in how it supports its retailers, how it spots opportunities, how it grows, etc, etc. 

I think on the negative side, I feel it’s undervalued in terms of sum-of-the-parts. Certainly, my intention would be to expose the business a little bit more to investors and get parts of that management team in front of investors, and actually really talk to what the Ireland business is about and what the prospects are. 

There’s a significant market share in the convenience space in Ireland, and I understand the arguments. If you wanted to invest in an Irish business, you wouldn’t do it through a South African entity. 

The benefit to us is, we’re getting a dividend out of Ireland now, they’ve committed to a dividend. It’s self-funding. There’s no cross-border, cross-guarantee exposure. And it makes sense for us to hold on to it.

The Finance Ghost: And maybe just in terms of a business model, just to help people understand, is it similar to Southern Africa? Is it actually quite different in terms of how Irish Business is run? Just gives people a sense. 

Because as you said, that business hasn’t gotten a lot of attention in the local market from investors. I think there’s just this offshore bucket for SPAR and people go, “Oh, that’s horrible”. Whereas actually, there’s one that you want to hang on to.

Reeza Isaacs: From a SPAR business point of view, it’s very similar. It is a wholesale business that supports independent retail. Where it is different is that it doesn’t just have the SPAR brand that it competes with in the market. It has Londis, MACE, XL, Gala – and these actually compete with the SPAR brand in Ireland. But they know their demographic, their place in that market pretty well. 

It has other wholesale businesses as well, not just under the SPAR banner. And as I mentioned, it’s got a food services arm as well, which utilises the back-end of food services to service quite big industries in Ireland. So geographically, it covers Ireland pretty well. And as I said, diversification of earnings and business is quite well spread.

The Finance Ghost: Okay, thanks, Reeza. That does at least give us some additional info then, on Ireland. So thank you. 

And I guess the cheeky, or maybe not cheeky question, as an investor and obviously someone who’s just seen a lot of pain at SPAR around offshore, can we at least say that new offshore deals are not a focus area? 

I would hope, at least for the medium term (I kind of hope forever, but forever’s a long time). So let me rather ask if at the very least we are done with this for the foreseeable future?

Reeza Isaacs: Our focus at the moment is on the SA operations. It is stabilising currently the foundation that we have from an operational perspective, it’s exploiting currently what we have, our 2,000 sites now, our 1,000 retailers, making sure we support them. And then the third bucket would be growth, which is quite hard to come by in a constrained economy. So, our focus is very much on the South African business.

The Finance Ghost: Speaking of Southern Africa, let’s get into it. You have a really strong business in Southern Africa, but obviously it is dealing with a competitive onslaught at the moment. There are some real gorillas in the market. 

And my take on it, I guess my outside take on it is, if you go pre-Covid, SPAR always felt like the convenience default. Chances are good that there’s a shopping centre on your way home from work or school, and there’s probably a SPAR there, and it’s a line shop, so it’s easy to park, and in you go. 

It always felt like that was SPAR’s model, it wasn’t necessarily somewhere where you might go and do monthly grocery shopping… You could do your monthly shopping there. But that wasn’t really SPAR’s key differentiator.

You won’t find SPAR in big shopping centres where you need to go and park and walk and do a whole thing. That was always my take on it. 

And then what’s obviously happened in the world of COVID and thereafter is stuff like online shopping and delivery, etc. And I do want to ask about that separately. 

But I think before we get to that, we need to deal with what is essentially the underlying business model of SPAR. Because there’s one very big thing that differentiates you from the other listed grocery players in South Africa – and that is that SPAR is a wholesaler, whereas the others, like Pick n Pay, are a mix (they’ve got franchise and corporate-owned stores). 

Shoprite, they’ve only got OK as their franchise, the rest is corporate-owned. And then Woolworths, some years ago, went away from franchise and bought up all their stores. 

So, SPAR is the odd one out. And I think the franchises are both a strength and a weakness, personally, like most things in life. 

I’m keen to understand from your perspective how your franchisees are doing, because we know that SPAR’s wholesaler has been through a tough time. But the actual stores themselves, how are they doing? And why do you think the franchise model can be a strength?

Reeza Isaacs: Our independent retailers don’t like to be called franchisees [laughs]. So, there’s obviously a distinction between franchise and independent retail.

And I just want to stress that our model is a voluntary trading model. So you sign up, there’s an MOI that you agree to, but in the end, it’s voluntary. 

We do have fluctuating or differing levels of loyalty amongst retailers. Those can be influenced by geography, and certain lines that they specialise in and focus on. But on average, we had about 80% loyalty. The way I simplistically think about it is that South Africa is a very diverse country in terms of the communities and the LSMs we have.

Independent retail actually allows you the flexibility to service those communities in the best way that you can. The strength in the model is also the fact that we have a thousand independent retailers that we serve from a wholesale perspective, and these retailers are at the front line – they’re in the communities.

Whether it’s in Sea Point, Rondebosch East, Khayelitsha or Langa, there’s a co-offering that we provide them. They adapt, I think about it as the remaining 20%, to their particular communities. They have the agility to adapt, and to adapt quickly: to really understand what’s going on in their communities and to service those communities with exactly what they need. They do it to the best of their abilities.

The mindset of an entrepreneur and an owner is also different to that of a store manager. That’s where the strength of independent retail lies. There’s been some stats published lately around the growth of independent retail versus formal retail. And there’s still a significant opportunity in that particular space. 

We’ve got a thousand retailers at the front line, 2000 sites. We focus on wholesale distribution and being as focused as we can. We manage a brand, and they focus on looking after their communities and their stores. 

There are models around the world, and we’ve got our own model in SPAR Ireland that works really well. And I think independent retail is thriving in Europe as well. The model does work.

The Finance Ghost: Yeah, the word community comes through a lot there, which is certainly my view on how a SPAR tends to do well.

Independent retailers – noted – instead of franchisees. Fair enough. Maybe when that loyalty comes up closer to 100%, they’ll feel a bit differently. We can only hope, one day. 

Cheekiness aside, let’s talk about the downside then, of what I will now call independent retail. And that is essentially (at least my perception of it, and I think what the stats are telling us as well) – around online.

That’s obviously where a group like Shoprite has done exceptionally well. I think Woolworths has done quite well there as well. Pick n Pay, certainly fighting them on that. It feels like those three are having the battle of the scooters at the moment. 

I could be wrong, but I haven’t seen too many SPAR2U vehicles on the road, if I’m honest. I live quite close to a SPAR, so I’ve kind of always taken that as a sign that it’s not an easy thing. 

And I guess that’s the downside of this independent model. In order to do online, you need this data engine at the centre, you need a fulfilment layer and engine on top, and it’s very hard to do that in a more diSPARate system. So sometimes a business model – it has pros, but that means it also has cons that really hard to get past.

Is that the reality with online? Do SPAR investors like me need to just accept that maybe online is a battleground, that SPAR is probably not going to win? You might participate, but you’re not necessarily going to be a big player?

Or do you have strategies where you believe that actually, you can play catch-up in terms of having an army of scooters or other vehicles on the road?

Reeza Isaacs: Yeah. The SPAR is a different business model compared to a full-blown retailer like Woolworths and Checkers. Our model is about the sustainable adoption of concepts like online and on-demand. 

Typically, a retailer would look at a node, will look at how it tackles that particular node from an online and on-demand perspective. And the retailers are at the front end.

For them, it’s about sustainable adoption. So when the retailers are confident in the economics, they must be confident in delivering a service that customers trust.

It’s not our intent, and we’re not trying to be the biggest online delivery service, but we’re trying to build a platform that complements in-store convenience on a store-by-store basis, depending on the retailer. 

We have done a lot of work at the front. It’s a little bit more complicated, because some of the strength that we have in bespoke store offerings has to be replicated on the app. So your catalogues have to be adapted effectively by store and then of course, the retailer has to adopt it. Our approach is highly targeted. 

Our growth’s been good from a low base in 2022, and we now at just over 600 stores. On-demand remains very important to us.

At a retail level, if you look at our like-for-like sales, we are – and these are not numbers to shout about – but we are just under 2% at the retail level, which means that on a like-for-like basis, we are competing with the likes of a Shoprite. But we’re not talking new stores and new store growth. 

And then we’ve introduced Uber Eats, another channel through which customers can get their SPAR. They obviously choose to pay a bit of a premium on Uber, but that is a convenience premium and we’ve actually seen that growth has also been quite significant. And we are at over 550 stores and continuing to scale up. 

But our focus has been on that individual store, that individual retailer, making sure that it makes sense for them and making sure that from a retail economics point of view, that makes sense.

The Finance Ghost: Reeza, thanks. Obviously, it’s not an easy thing to try and turn around, in terms of some of these trends like online, etc. And it’s a fair take to say that there are these intricacies of the SPAR model, some of which will get online, some of which won’t, but at least you are participating there. And other convenience plays, as you say, like Uber Eats, etc.

It’s going to become more and more of a thing going forward. Even if I just look at my own peer group and how people are behaving. And I think it’s even more digital, the younger you get, so that’s going to be an interesting thing to see SPAR deal with in the years to come for sure. 

Let’s move on to the wholesale side of the business, which is ultimately… Well, that’s where you play, right? That’s where you actually are in the value chain.

People forget this all the time. They read the SPAR results, they think about their local SPAR and they forget that the thing you are buying when you invest in SPAR, the listed company, is the wholesale business. 

The first question I wanted to ask, and I believe you subsequently fulfilled this position – initially, when I read your last set of results, you were talking about a managing director for the Southern African Grocery and Liquor cluster, effectively – I believe you’ve now filled that role?

I wondered, and you know, I am quite cynical at heart, so you’d have to forgive me, but it feels like it almost puts another layer of management in there, and almost takes the top execs a little bit further away from what might be happening in Southern Africa as the core business. 

You’ve already addressed the fact that you’re not looking to do more offshore stuff, which I think all investors will be very happy about. It then begs the question, why the need for the multiple layers of management?

It’s obviously something you thought about, and is worth digging into, to just help investors understand why you’ve taken that route.

Reeza Isaacs: That is an important question. Just a reminder that not so long ago we actually did have a managing director of Groceries and Liquor. That position was filled by Max Oliva. And then when Max left, Angelo effectively did that job as well as the group job. 

And just from a pure corporate structure point of view, just if you look at the layers and spans of control, it doesn’t make sense not to fill that particular position. You’ve got your six MDs that report to you. You’ve got merchandise, you’ve got marketing, you’ve got logistics, you’ve got the retail operations, and that’s just for Groceries and Liquor. 

We’ve got an Ireland business. We’ve got a finance function, sustainability, governance, we’ve got Build it. We’ve got all the other support functions – HR, Chief Marketing Officer, etc.

From my perspective, it’s about creating the right level of focus and accountability in the business. 

I’m very pleased to say that we have fulfilled it internally from within the business. Jerome Jacobs, he’s taken on the job. He was MD of North Rand division. He spent a number of years in the business. He’s gone from the Western Cape to Eastern Cape to South Rand to North Rand. 

He understands the marketing and merchandise functions very well. He’s highly respected amongst his peers, and he’s got a very, very good relationship with retailers and very good credibility with retailers. So it is a very important position that requires lots of operational involvement and retailer exposure.

I just want to repeat: it’s not about being removed from the business.

I attend Groceries and Liquor executive meetings, so does Megan. And we are the executives fully invested in that business. We understand that the turnaround of that business is absolutely key to the turnaround of the group.

The Finance Ghost: That makes sense. Thank you for clarifying. That’s really important. 

We may as well deal with one of the other elephants in the room, obviously, because it is a tough story at the moment at SPAR. And that is the SAP implementation, which was obviously, unfortunately, somewhat of a catastrophe.

Woolworths might always wear that unwanted hat of David Jones as the poster child for offshore. I’m worried that SPAR is going to wear the SAP one as the poster child for systems catastrophes for a long time. Hopefully, eventually, people will forget when it’s out of the way. But it has been obviously really tough for the group, there are even some lawsuits underway. 

From an investor perspective, when something bad happens, the main thing you want to know is that it’s not happening again or that the lessons have been learned. Or that there are reasons to believe that this is now firmly in the past and doesn’t matter, you know, hakuna matata style. 

So, what level of comfort can we give investors that this is gone now, and that you’ve learned from it and that these coming systems implementations and whatever else you need to do will not be a repeat performance of what we saw at that DC?

Reeza Isaacs: Yeah. Let’s be candid about the SAP challenges. They were significant, created real disruption in one of our biggest, biggest, biggest DCs. And the legal action is a reminder of that disruption. I’m not going to comment on the legal action, but we are confident of our position with regards to that. 

The key now is execution. We’ve gone from a “big bang” approach initially, to a more phase-controlled, well-governed approach – and separating the different aspects of the implementation from finance to drop shipment to warehouse and the like. 

And it is an absolutely very important implementation. It’s been governed from the board all the way down into the organisation. Megan is the ultimate executive tasked with it. Megan is being supported by Brett McDougall, our CIO (and CIO in this instance obviously is Chief Information Officer).

The Finance Ghost: Yes. Not Chief Investment Officer, right? Absolutely. Slightly different world from what a lot of finance listeners might be accustomed to.

Reeza Isaacs: And then we have project SteerCos that meet on a monthly basis. We look at the governance – we’ve got programme assurance around the implementation, we monitor budgets and progress on a regular basis. From data integrity to user acceptance testing to systems integration testing. Those are all being looked at extremely carefully.

I would even venture to say – and I hope the tech team doesn’t take any offence to this – but in some instances I think we’re probably a little bit too cautious our

implementation. But we’re sure that we get it right and all those milestones like gross profit visibility at the category level, etc, are being met. It impacts the business in a positive way.

The Finance Ghost: Okay. So obviously, with the SAP stuff hopefully out of the way and out of the system from a Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN) perspective, certainly, and some more projects to come, your big initiative has got to be to win back the loyalty of the KZN independent retailer base.

What are you doing so to achieve that? You’ve mentioned that you’ve got a new executive who’s come in from a Southern Africa perspective, Grocery and Liquor. Respected by the retailers – I think that is very important.

I can understand, given the SPAR model, why you need someone in that role, someone who’s not necessarily caught up in a lot of the Group Exco-type stuff, and actually has the ability to really engage with the retailers. 

So how do you win back that loyalty? Is it just a case of winning back trust, and just making sure mistakes don’t happen again? Is there more to it than that? How should investors think about that?

Reeza Isaacs: Look, KZN is a really important and a crucial reason for us. The SAP disruption has been significant and as I mentioned; we’re still dealing with the fallout of that. The team is rebuilding trust every day through their interactions with the retailers, tranSPARent communication, targeted investment in logistics. 

We’ve reconstituted the team. We’ve got a new head of retail operations in place (a very experienced individual); a new head of merchandise (he’s come from North Rand), and a new head of finance. So there are still some challenges in KZN from an operational perspective, but we’re working very, very closely with our retailers to get their service levels back up to where it was.

Historically, loyalty levels were below national levels. And that is just given the particular dynamic in KZN. And we need to get that loyalty level up by at least another 300 basis points in KZN. 

And just to remind everyone: our DCs outside of KZN are actually performing really well. They’re at the 80% average loyalty in South Africa. So again, we talk about outliers and the bad news, but just a reminder, at its heart, we still have 80% loyalty in this group.

The Finance Ghost: Yeah, exactly. At the core of this thing is a business that deserves to do well and hopefully will in the years to come. 

Speaking of doing well, let’s deal with some of the growth engines in the group as we start to move towards the end of the podcast.

So, there are some green shoots in your story. I know the pharmacy business, for example, is one of them. We’re seeing that your major competitors are incubating businesses that have really got very little to do with groceries.

So clothing is an example. Pet care seems to be a real battleground. There’s a lot going on at Woolworths and Shoprite specifically around that.

In the clothing space, obviously Pick n Pay has been pretty strong historically, and Shoprite’s starting to take that fight to them.

There’s a lot of stuff going on outside of just traditional Grocery and Liquor, and the way that business works at SPAR. Let’s talk about some of these other growth engines.

Do you think you’ve got the bandwidth, bluntly, to actually fight for market share? Because you’ve got a lot to focus on in the core business. I guess that’s the reason I ask the question. 

There’s a lot of work to do in your day-to-day stuff. Build it, that’s another big part of your group. Do you have the ability to really win share in these spaces?

Reeza Isaacs: I certainly believe that we do. In the adjacencies like pharmacy, like pet. And then if you look at a category level – coffee, wellness – the trends around these subsets of retail have been really good.

So we’re in a constrained economy, it’s good to go after these particular areas – and we will be targeted – we are not going to be everything to everyone. We are going to help retailers pick their battles very, very carefully. 

And we’re going to rely on our core strength – which is wholesale and distribution – and do it in these particular subsectors, which will enable retailers to grow the pet business. 

We’ve got Petshop Science in Checkers; we’ve got Absolute Pets in Woolies. It was a massive trend post Covid. There are good subsectors. There’s quite a bit of formalisation to happen in that particular space. 

The pharmacy space is very, very competitive. But there is a role, like there is a role independent retailers, there’s still a role for independent pharmacy businesses, and we can support those businesses in their growth ambitions.

The Finance Ghost: So Reeza, maybe just a final point then, that I think is worth just touching on, really just for investors listening to this.

I guess the story is: do they believe that things can just be steadied (nothing can turn around until it’s actually steady)? And I do think that the worst is behind the business. There have been so many challenges at SPAR. It feels like at some point, it just will run out of huge problems, and I like to think that it’s there.

The question then is, how are you moving the needle and the big initiatives? 

So if you wanted to leave investors with, not necessarily an elevator pitch, but maybe just the key points that you really want them to take out of this in terms of where you believe the story can go.

The “good news story” of SPAR, I mean you’ve spoken to the extent to which there’s a good business underneath all of this and I agree with that. I do think that SPAR’s market position remains interesting.

At least it’s differentiated with all these independent retailers. That’s always been my take on it is that there’s something about SPAR’s business that feels like it can compete. 

But in your own words, from an investor perspective, what would you want people to really just think about when they think about SPAR right now?

Reeza Isaacs: The strategy remains: the foundation is solid, and unleashing the power of independent retail is still our core focus. We’ve scored quite a few own goals and SPAR at the moment is a self-help story to a large extent. 

To improve margin, we’ve set out nine particular initiatives that we are tackling, and they are all very much within our control to achieve. Whether it’s reducing corporate store losses, turning around our KZN distribution centre, to reducing costs, to expanding private label, these are all things well within our control. 

And we are, at the heart, a R140 billion retail business, the second biggest retail business in the country.

We’ve got to simplify the way we operate. Got to get back down to basics, get our core purpose in life – which is to service those retailers as best we can and have clear measurable KPIs, and improve the business, and just focus on execution. 

We are moving ahead. It might not be evident from some of the headlines that you see and that you read, but underlying all of this (and we’ve spoken about this a lot today) is a really good business with really committed retailers. Let’s focus on growth and improving our market position.

The Finance Ghost: Reeza, thank you. I appreciate you doing this so early in your new role because obviously, your feet are barely even under the table from a CEO perspective. I think it was a pretty unexpected change of management for probably the whole group, not just the outside world. So thank you for being willing to do this, and I guess I just wanted to wish you luck and all the best. 

As I said at the start, there are a lot of people who depend on the story, and it is very much about just getting the basics right. No swashbuckling, fancy deals or anything of the sort.

Just actually getting to the grind, right? Because that’s what retail is at its absolute core, a game of inches. So I just wanted to wish you luck and the market will obviously be watching this one very closely. 

I’ll disclose once more, in case anyone missed it at the beginning, that I do, in addition to doing this for Ghost Mail, I do also happen to have SPAR shares, a very small position in my overall portfolio. Like pretty much all my positions, I like a lot of diversification. Important to disclose that. 

And Reeza, thank you. I hope we’ll do some more of these in future. And good luck to you.

Reeza Isaacs: Thank you for having me, Ghost.

Ghost Bites (Bell Equipment | MAS | Sirius Real Estate)

The Finance Ghost
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Ghost Bites (Bell Equipment | MAS | Sirius Real Estate)

Keep an eye on the Pepkor (JSE: PPH) share price today (31 March) – they are hosting a Capital Markets Day. I will write about this in Ghost Bites when the materials become available.

A challenging year for Bell Equipment (JSE: BEL)

But the balance sheet is looking much better than before

In the year ended December 2025, Bell Equipment saw revenue decline by 5% and operating profit fall by 23%. HEPS was down 11% and the dividend per share took a nasty 38% tumble.

Perhaps the only highlight here is that inventory fell by 7%, with 199 days inventory vs. 201 days in the prior period. Trade receivables were down 8%, while trade payables increased by 17%. This means that they unlocked R476 million from working capital in this period.

But despite this, cash generated from operations fell by 44% year-on-year. This is because they unlocked R1.2 billion in working capital in the prior period! The past two years have been all about improving the balance sheet at Bell and getting the cash flow right.

Importantly, Bell is now in a net cash position instead of a net debt position! That’s a really big deal.

Excluding the working capital improvements, cash operating profit fell by 24% to R783 million. This is an indication of the underlying performance in the period.

An incredibly hostile global trade environment made things difficult for Bell. The manufacturing facilities in South Africa and Germany are far away from many customers. This leads to a complex supply chain. Once you layer on the tariff pressures, it’s a really difficult time for the company.

The geopolitical issues go beyond just the tariffs that the US is putting on South Africa and Europe. There is now greater competition in ex-US global markets due to products being forced into them by the US trade policy.

The South African operations saw an 11.3% decline in external dealer sales. This business now contributes 20.6% of group sales. The reduced volumes led to a drop in operating profit from R477.2 million to R218.7 million. In addition to the geopolitical minefield they had to navigate over this period, they also suffered supply chain failures that were outside of their control.

The tariffs are also a feature of the performance in Europe, where sales volumes fell by 17.9%. This business is now 28.5% of group sales, down significantly from 33.1% in the prior period. Bell Europe saw operating profit drop from R159.4 million to R94.8 million.

In the direct sales business (the South Africa (BESSA) and Zambia dealerships), Bell saw a sales improvement of 6.3%. This division is now 42.6% of group sales. But even then, operating profit fell from R247.8 million to R186.5 million.

Overall, Bell Equipment has done a decent job of making money in tough conditions. The balance sheet is in a much better place than before. With a more certain geopolitical environment, the company could see a resurgence in its performance.

Are you willing to buy this story? Before answering the poll, here’s the 12-month share price chart for context:

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Time to ring the Bell?

How do you feel about Bell Equipment's prospects?

MAS shareholders jumped at the PK Investments bid (JSE: MAS)

The price of R21 per share is a premium to current market levels

MAS announced the results of the bid by PK Investments to acquire MAS shares.

Although the pricing of the offer was set to vary based on demand, MAS shareholders were willing to take a chance. Selling offers were in excess of twice the bid size, which means that over 80 million shares were offered to PK Investments.

The clearing price was thus set at R21 per share, a premium to the latest closing price of R19.49 per share. The final volume will still be 40 million shares.

This means that over R840 million will change hands.

Sirius Real Estate has acquired another defence asset in Germany (JSE: SRE)

They are executing a strategy that has been clearly articulated

Sirius Real Estate is pursuing a focused strategy in Europe.

If you would like to understand it in detail, I strongly recommend you listen to this podcast that I recorded with the Sirius management team in December. Andrew Coombs (CEO), Chris Bowman (CFO) and Tariq Khader (CIO) took me through the defence strategy in Germany in particular, along with the dynamics of the UK market.

Their latest deal is to acquire a business park in Germany for €93.4 million. The main tenant is Rheinmetall, a defence company that became a household name (in finance circles) in the past year or so.

The properties themselves aren’t always specialised. It’s more about the location. The city of Kiel is a maritime industrial defence and transport hub, as the geographical position leads directly into the Baltic Sea.

The net initial yield is 8.2% and the weighted average lease expiry is 4 years. The property is 98.5% occupied. That doesn’t sound like there’s much of an asset management opportunity to improve returns, but there’s a 955 sqm development on site that is due to complete in 2027. This will provide a rental uplift, with a tenant already lined up with a 10-year lease.

They have deployed over €200 million into defence-related acquisitions in Germany and the UK over the past 12 months.

Nibbles:

  • Director dealings:
    • A director of Richemont (JSE: CFR) bought shares worth nearly R8.4 million. Directors who buy/sell shares are never named in Richemont announcements – Swiss privacy and all that jazz!
    • A director of Thungela Resources (JSE: TGA) sold shares worth nearly R1.7 million.
    • A director of Momentum (JSE: MTM) bought shares worth R329k.
    • A director of Zeda (JSE: ZZD) bought shares worth R198k.
    • A director of York Timber (JSE: YRK) bought shares worth just over R49k.
  • FirstRand (JSE: FSR) announced a reorganisation of segments at FNB and a new CEO. A Retail and Business Banking segment will service middle-income individuals and SMEs, led by Lytania Johnson. She will also become the CEO of FNB, replacing Harry Kellan who will take early retirement in 2026. A Private Banking and Wealth Management segment will target higher income clients, with Sizwe Nxedlana continuing to lead that business. The Commercial and Corporate Bank, run by Muneer Ismail, will service enterprise and public sector clients. A further update is that Gert Kruger, who has been the Group Chief Risk Officer since 2017, will take the Group Chief Operating Officer role.
  • Sea Harvest’s (JSE: SHG) disposal of Ladismith Cheese is going to take a bit longer than planned. Due to various suspensive conditions that still need to be fulfilled, including approval by the Competition Commission, the parties have extended the fulfilment date to 30 June 2026.
  • Wesizwe Platinum (JSE: WEZ) announced a change in strategy. They’ve discontinued the previously-communicated phased ramp-up approach. The revised strategy is to pursue a single-stage ramp-up to a 3.5 Mtpa operation. They are undertaking a comprehensive optimisation study to support this strategy, due for release in the 2026 financial year.
  • RMB Holdings (JSE: RMH) announced that AttBid and Atterbury Property Fund have bought more shares in the company, taking their holdings to 32.77% and 9.67% respectively. The aggregate holding of the parties is thus 42.44%.
  • TeleMasters Holdings (JSE: TLM) announced results for the six months to December 2025. The market cap is only R113 million and there’s little or no liquidity in this stock, so it just gets a mention down here. Revenue increased by 13.6%, operating profit was up 7% and HEPS shot up by 94%. The dividend per share increased by 150% to 0.50 cents per share. For context, the current share price (which hasn’t traded in a while) is R1.97.
  • Labat Africa (JSE: LAB) completed the transfer of 400 million shares (at R0.10 per share) to pay for the acquisition of Ahnamu. The share price has other ideas, dropping as low as R0.03!
  • Lighthouse Properties (JSE: LTE) announced the results of the scrip distribution alternative. Out of a maximum of 78.8 million new shares, elections by shareholders led to almost 23.4 million additional shares being issued. This is dilutive to investors over time, but it does retain cash on the company balance sheet.
  • This is more of a corporate housekeeping update than anything else, but PBT Holdings (JSE: PBG) has scheduled a meeting of shareholders align the MOI to the simplified JSE Listings Requirements. The associated circular has been posted.
  • André van der Veer will retire from the board of NEPI Rockcastle (JSE: NRP) at the upcoming AGM. He’s been on the board since 2017 and has played a major role in the recycling and deployment of capital over nearly the past decade.

Ghost Bites (Accelerate Property Fund | MTN | Reinet)

The Finance Ghost
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Ghost Bites (Accelerate Property Fund | MTN | Reinet)

Accelerate Property Fund is making proper strides now (JSE: APF)

This speculative investment has worked out well for me

Accelerate Property Fund is a good example of an unusually risky position in my portfolio. Sized appropriately (just in case), it worked out really well. My position is up 70%.

Of course, with the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had bought a lot more!

When property funds are in trouble, the good news is that you’ve got decent visibility on the underlying assets and liabilities. And thanks to transparent financial reporting by the company and a commitment to talking about the problems rather than hiding them away, I felt that the market was putting too steep a discount on the underlying net asset value (NAV) per share at Accelerate.

In a voluntary update for the year ending March 2026, it looks as though the company has made a lot of positive progress. We will only know for sure when the results are released in July.

Having previously executed a rights offer of R300 million and asset disposals of R1.7 billion, Accelerate had R2 billion in capital to help steady the ship. They reduced debt by R1.9 billion through these initiatives. With disposals of R378 million expected to transfer post year-end, things are looking up for the balance sheet.

Accelerate has invested R173 million into Fourways Mall since Flanagan & Gerard and Moolman Group were appointed as property and asset managers. The great news is that it’s working, with vacancies down to 9.4% from 16.1% in the prior year! It gets better – based on signed leases and those in advanced stages, vacancy is expected to reduce to approximately 5% by September 2026.

Average trading density at Fourways Mall has increased by 8.6% on a rolling 12-month basis. Footfall is up 20%. This is really impressive stuff.

The tenant mix in the precinct looks set to improve, with a focus on high-quality dining experiences. New tenants include Tashas and The Pantry.

They aren’t completely free of headaches, though. There are properties in the group outside of Fourways Mall. For example, Oceana Group has given notice that they will vacate Oceana House in the Foreshore when the lease expires in June 2026.

Another pain point is the lease with KPMG across several properties. It reverts to market-related rates with effect from August 2026 – and those rates are “materially” below the current levels.

The impact of the Oceana and KPMG leases is significant, with Accelerate noting that they are engaging with funders for covenant relief where required. This is still a speculative play, but the massive white elephant in the room – Fourways Mall – is showing excellent signs of life.

MTN announces several new directors (JSE: MTN)

They are really beefing up the board

MTN has announced the appointment of five new directors to the board. There are only two directors retiring from the board, so it looks like MTN is going to need a bigger boardroom table.

A name you’ll recognise from Ghost Bites is Herman Bosman, previously the CEO of RMB Holdings (JSE: RMH). He’s already involved with MTN as the chairman of MTN Group Fintech.

Advocate Ouma Resethaba was previously the Deputy National Director of Public Prosecutions and Head of the Asset Forfeiture Unit in South Africa. She brings plenty of experience to the board in dealing with risk.

Another local appointment is Ignatius Sehoole, previously the CEO of KPMG in South Africa, among other roles.

In terms of international perspectives, Stephane Richard (previously the CEO of Orange) and Saf Yeboah-Amankwah (ex-Chief Strategy Officer at Intel) have also joined the board.

That’s quite a show of intent from the company in terms of ramping up the skills in the room.

Reinet’s bank account just got a lot fatter (JSE: RNI)

But what will they do with the cash?

Reinet announced that the sale of the entire stake in Pension Insurance Corporation Group to Athora UK has been completed.

The proceeds? A casual £2.9 billion. In rand, that’s around R66 billion. That’s a chunky number.

What will they do with it? That’s anyone’s guess. The Rupert family companies are not exactly famous for share buybacks, so I suspect that they are going to look to deploy this capital into new investments.

To give you an idea of how enormous this number is, Reinet just received cash in excess of the entire Old Mutual (JSE: OMU) market cap of R58 billion. I’m not speculating on an acquisition here – I’m giving you context to the size of the war chest.

It’s actually even bigger than this, as Reinet is sitting on cash from previous disposals. Never mind a private island – Reinet could just about acquire a planet at this stage.

It’s not easy to figure out what to do with this kind of money. What do you think they will do with the proceeds?

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Reinet's fat wallet

What do you think Reinet will do with the R66 billion?

Nibbles:

  • Director dealings:
    • The Wiese family have been playing musical shares again with Invicta (JSE: IVT) shares. Across various family investment entities, a casual R492 million worth of shares changed hands.
    • A senior executive at Investec (JSE: INL | JSE: INP) sold shares in the company worth R10 million.
    • The chairman of Shaftesbury Capital (JSE: SHC) sold shares worth R2.8 million.
    • The CEO of Sibanye-Stillwater (JSE: SSW) bought shares worth R1.9 million.
    • The CEO of AVI (JSE: AVI) exercised share options and sold all the shares received. The value of the trade was R1.4 million.
    • The COO of Spur (JSE: SUR) sold shares worth R391k.
    • A director of KAP (JSE: KAP) bought shares worth R345k.
  • Salungano Group (JSE: SLG) has finally caught up on financial reporting for the year ended March 2025. The results were actually a vast improvement on the comparable period, with operating profit swinging wildly from a loss of R309 million to profit of R189 million. HEPS was 2.62 cents, a whole lot better than a headline loss per share in the comparable period of 111.91 cents. I must note that at the end of March 2025, current liabilities exceeded current assets, which creates going concern risks. The company announced the appointment of Jannie Muller as the CFO of the company. He has been the interim CFO since February 2025. Let’s hope that the 2026 interim results will be next on his agenda, as the company still has catching up to do with its reporting.
  • Rex Trueform (JSE: RTO) has released results for the six months to December 2025. There’s practically no liquidity in the stock, so they only get a passing mention down here. Revenue was up 4.4% and gross margin increased from 52.4% to 53.2%. Sounds good, except operating costs jumped by 20.1% due to the investment in technology companies in the group. Operating profit fell by 59%, creating a difficult situation in a business with thin margins. With finance costs slightly up, profit before tax fell by 83.9%. If we work off HEPS, the decrease was 98.2%! African and Overseas Enterprises (JSE: AOO), part of the same family of companies and with the same website, saw HEPS drop from positive 76.9 cents to a loss of 10.8 cents.
  • Visual International Holdings (JSE: VIS) released a trading statement for the year ended February 2026. There’s very little liquidity in the stock, so it only gets a mention down here. HEPS is expected to be at least 20% higher than the 0.39 cents reported in the prior period. As with all trading statements, the wording “at least 20%” is the minimum required disclosure, so the final number may or may not differ by a much larger percentage.
  • Randgold & Exploration Company (JSE: RNG) is a very small and obscure name on the local market. The company has released results for the year ended December 2025. Full focus is on “the recovery of claims related to assets allegedly misappropriated from it” – not the kind of vision or strategy statement that you’ll see every day. Oddly, they are spending more on personnel than on legal and forensic fees at the moment.
  • AB InBev (JSE: ANH) announced that chairman Martin J. Barrington will be retiring after 7 years in the role. William F. Gifford, Jr has been proposed as the new chairman, subject to approvals.
  • OUTsurance Group (JSE: OUT) has received approval from the JSE for the special dividend of 30.3 cents per share. I can’t help myself: shareholders will be getting something out! It’s incredible how an era of ads will stay with you for life.
  • Wesizwe Platinum (JSE: WEZ) is catching up on financial reporting. They’ve released a trading statement dealing with the six months to June 2025. HEPS for the period increased by between 39% and 59%. The results are expected to be released by the end of March.
  • Sable Exploration and Mining (JSE: SXM) is currently suspended from trading. This means that they need to provide a quarterly update to the market. They are currently engaging with potential auditors, so there’s a long road ahead. No timeline has been given for the expected lifting of the suspension.

The Nazi who was tried as a pirate

Dominique Olivier
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The Nazi who was tried as a pirate

The scale and nature of Adolf Eichmann’s crimes placed them outside the reach of conventional legal frameworks. To hold him accountable, one court turned to a centuries-old doctrine designed to prosecute those who were considered enemies of all humanity.

At one point in history, not too long ago, a man who identified as a Nazi was told by a court of law that he was also a pirate.

It sounds… odd? These are not categories we expect to overlap. And yet, in 1961, in a courtroom in Jerusalem, that is more or less what happened.

Before the trial of Adolf Eichmann could properly begin, prosecutors faced a problem. How does an Israeli court try a German man, living under Argentine protection, for crimes committed across Europe against victims from multiple countries?

The usual legal pathways did not quite stretch that far. So, prosecutors reached for something older – a principle shaped in a time when criminals operated beyond borders, far from any single nation’s authority. It was a framework built for 17th century pirates. And now it was being used to deal with something far more modern.

A deadly cog in the machinery

Adolf Eichmann was not a public figure in the way some Nazi leaders were. He did not command armies or deliver speeches to crowds. His role sat deeper in the system, in the part that made everything run.

He joined the SS in 1932 and was eventually assigned to what the regime called “Jewish affairs”. Over time, he became one of the people responsible for organising deportations across Europe. His work was almost purely logistical: trains, routes, schedules, numbers. He did not design the camps himself, but he ensured that people arrived at them in vast numbers and with relentless efficiency.

When senior Nazi officials met at Wannsee in 1942 to formalise the “Final Solution”, Eichmann was there, recording the minutes. Genocide was being translated into paperwork, and he was part of the process that made it operational.

In 1944, he personally oversaw the deportation of roughly 437,000 Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz. Around 75% of them were murdered shortly after arriving there. Across Europe, the scale of the transports he helped organise makes it difficult to put a precise number on the lives lost through his involvement.

When the war ended in 1945, Eichmann was captured by American forces. For a brief moment, it looked as though he might be held accountable for his actions. But then, he slipped through. Using forged documents, he concealed his identity and avoided detection. When it looked as though his true identity had been revealed, he escaped from a work detail and disappeared into the confusion of post-war Europe. His name surfaced repeatedly in the testimony of his fellow party members at the Nuremberg trials, but he himself did not.

In 1950, he made the disappearance permanent. With the help of covert networks that moved former Nazis out of Europe, he obtained Red Cross papers under the name Ricardo Klement and travelled to Argentina.

The man who almost got away

Argentina offered exactly the kind of distance Eichmann needed. There was no extradition treaty with Israel or Germany, and while the government appeared to be aware of the fact that their country was becoming somewhat of an open-air retirement home for war criminals, authorities showed little urgency when it came to pursuing Nazi fugitives. It created the ideal space for someone like Eichmann to settle in.

And he did exactly that. He worked a series of ordinary jobs before finding more stable employment at Mercedes-Benz, where he was eventually promoted to the position of department head. He brought his family over and built them a home. To the people around him, he was unremarkable, simply a family man with a routine, a job, a place in the neighbourhood.

Eichmann may have been moving on, but the people on his trail – predominantly Holocaust-survivor-turned-Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal – were not. As the years passed,  suspicions about Ricardo Clement’s true identity began to surface and circulate, and those who were looking for him took notice. But figuring out where Eichmann was was only step one. What came next was the really tricky part. 

Extradition was not a realistic option. Argentina had a history of refusing such requests, and even attempting one carried the risk of alerting Eichmann or those who would protect him. If he disappeared again, there was no guarantee he would be found a second time.

Foiled by a teenager

Lothar Hermann was a German Jew who had fled to Argentina before the war. In 1956, his teenage daughter Sylvia began dating a young man named Klaus. Klaus was charming, but he also had a habit of talking too much. At some point, he began boasting about his father’s past, dropping references to Nazi connections. 

It was the sort of thing that might have been dismissed as bravado, except for one detail: his surname was Eichmann.

Lothar sensed what was happening. To be sure of the facts, he asked Sylvia to go to the family home and see who answered the door. When she arrived, it wasn’t Klaus who greeted her, but an older man who introduced himself as Klaus’ uncle. He seemed cautious and measured. Then, a short while later, Klaus appeared and addressed him plainly as “Father”.

Lothar alerted Fritz Bauer, the prosecutor-general of the state of Hesse in West Germany, who in turn made the decision to approach Israeli authorities directly. From there, the slow machinery of investigation began to move with more purpose. By the end of the 1950s, Israeli authorities had enough to justify closer scrutiny. Mossad agents were sent to Buenos Aires, where they began observing Eichmann’s daily movements. They watched his movements, noted his habits, and compared what they saw with what they knew.

He took the bus home at roughly the same time each day, and he followed the same route on foot. There was a predictability to his life that made surveillance possible and, eventually, a plan feasible. On the evening of 11 May 1960, Eichmann was intercepted by a team of agents while walking home. He was overpowered and forced into a waiting car. Several days later, he was sedated and snuck onto a plane to Israel. 

The legal problem

Argentina’s response was immediate. From its perspective, its sovereignty had been violated. Foreign agents had entered the country, abducted a resident, and removed him without permission. The dispute was taken to the United Nations.

Israel acknowledged the breach, but did not return Eichmann. Instead, it moved forward with the trial. That decision brought the central legal issue into focus. Eichmann’s crimes had taken place in Europe. He was a German national who had been living in Argentina. The state preparing to try him had not existed when those crimes were committed. The usual rules about jurisdiction did not provide a clear answer.

To proceed, the court needed a principle that could stretch across borders and still hold. And that principle came from an unexpected place.

Between the 1600s and 1700s, rampant piracy forced legal systems to confront a similar problem. Pirates operated beyond the reach of any single nation, attacking ships in international waters and constantly moving between jurisdictions. Since traditional rules struggled to contain them, the response was the concept of universal jurisdiction. Since pirates were considered hostis humani generis – or enemies of all humanity – the decision was made that any state was allowed to prosecute them, regardless of where their crimes took place or where they themselves were from. 

By the 20th century, this idea was well-established in relation to piracy. What had not yet been fully resolved was whether it could apply to crimes committed on land, within the borders of states, against civilian populations.

The Holocaust forced that question into the open. In Eichmann’s case, the court framed his actions as crimes against humanity, extending beyond any one country or legal system. That framing made it possible to apply a form of universal jurisdiction. For the purposes of the trial, Eichmann was condemned as both a Nazi and a pirate. 

Eichmann’s end

The trial began in Jerusalem in April 1961 and unfolded over several months. The prosecution presented documents, records, and testimony from survivors who described, in detail, the systems that had shaped their trauma. Eichmann’s defence remained consistent throughout. He argued that he had been following orders, that he was part of a larger machine, that responsibility lay elsewhere. His denial of personal responsibility would later inspire a researcher at Yale University to design the Milgram experiment in order to test the limits of human obedience (in case you missed it, I covered that experiment and its findings in an article here). 

The court rejected Eichmann’s argument. It found him guilty on multiple counts, including crimes against humanity and crimes against the Jewish people. In December 1961, he was sentenced to death. The sentence was carried out by hanging the following year.

A strange alignment

Dubbing Eichmann hostis humani generis wasn’t an attempt to be poetic. It was a way of saying that what he (and he fellow Nazi party members) had done could not be contained within nationality or geography. The scale of the crime demanded a broader claim and a different kind of accountability.

The comparison to piracy feels mismatched, almost absurd at first glance. But that discomfort is part of the point. It reveals the limits of the systems we build, and the strange places we have to go when those systems fall short. Because in the end, the alternative was far stranger: a world in which someone could help orchestrate the machinery of genocide, cross a border, change a name, and simply carry on.

About the author: Dominique Olivier

Dominique Olivier is the founder of human.writer, where she uses her love of storytelling and ideation to help brands solve problems.

Her first book, Lessons from Loss, has been published by Penguin Random House.

She is a weekly columnist in Ghost Mail and collaborates with The Finance Ghost on Ghost Mail Weekender, a Sunday publication designed to help you be more interesting.

Dominique can be reached on LinkedIn here.

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