People: David’s African idyll

David Lenigas, executive chairman of Africa-focused conglomerate Lonrho, will have no truck with doomsters predicting a succession of further woes for the continent. Former boss of controversial Bangladesh coal play Asia Energy (now GCM), Lenigas clearly relishes filling the shoes of Lonrho’s creator, the legendary ‘Tiny’ Rowland, and says the AIM-quoted company, losing money so far but debt-free and enjoying buoyant turnover, is poised to thrive.

Its businesses range from agricultural products distribution and commodities, supplied to big-name Western store chains, to airlines and luxury hotels in Mozambique and elsewhere. Lonrho has launched a free port at Luba in Equatorial Guinea, and Lenigas says airports in Mali, Angola and even Zimbabwe are set to take business from the clogged airports in Johannesburg and elsewhere in South Africa.  

Today’s AIM-quoted company may still be a far cry from the Lonrho of yesteryear, with interests ranging from mines to newspapers and battling with Fulham FC chairman Mohammed Al-Fayed and the Sultan of Brunei for control of Harrods. But Lenigas, an entrepreneurial Australian versed in corporate wheeler-dealing, says the name alone is opening doors for the company all over the place.

‘Lonrho is going back to its roots,’ he declares, pointing to the company’s key stake in LonZim, a Zimbabwe-focused investment concern that recently fought off attempts by shareholder AMB Capital to forget central Africa and return cash to investors. Conference hotels, airlines and specialist pharmaceuticals are in the mix, with a quotation on the Harare Stock Exchange under active consideration.