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David ‘Tiny’ Lenigas, entrepreneurial boss of Lonrho Africa, says the emerging conglomerate plans an AIM float in the New Year for Norse Air, the African air charter and leasing company where Lonrho has bought a 43 per cent controlling stake for £3.15 million. Norse works for the United Nations in the Congo and has clients including South Africa’s treasury and police. It should double revenues this year to $30 million (£15.8 million), argues Lenigas, and could repeat the performance again in 2007.

Under the share deal, Lonrho, itself AIM-quoted, has the right to appoint a chairman to Norse Air, whose chief executive officer David Avnit and managing director Nadja Avnit will continue to run the business and are locked in as shareholders for another three years. The company came to Lonrho through broker WH Ireland, which had originally thought of floating it direct.

Lonrho raised £12.8 million at 28p earlier this year, recently paid £1.05 million for 63 per cent of a free-port in Equatorial Guinea and spent £786,000 for a ‘controlling’ 49 per cent of Kenyan discount airline Fly540. Lenigas, who says all the planes will sport Lonrho insignia, claims a £20 million war chest and says African agribusinesses are next on his shopping list.

Lenigas suggests Lonrho will make nearly five times its initial £1.5 million investment in gem group Nare Diamonds, when that company floats soon Down Under. That presumably rules out the pre-float profit-taking that marred the float of Lonrho-backed Brinkley Mining.

The terms of any Norse Air float have not been worked out. Lonrho, with various balls in the air, could repay a speculative punt at 27.5p if they all land in the right place.