African Sun

AfricanSun
Company typePublic
IndustryHotels
Founded1968
HeadquartersHarare, Zimbabwe
Key people
E.T Shangwa, CEO. Alex Makamure, Chairman
RevenueUSD 35.2 million (2009)
Number of employees
2250
WebsiteAfricansunhotels.com

African Sun Limited, is a Zimbabwe based hospitality management company established in 1968. It operates in the hospitality and leisure industry through a number of hotels, resorts, casinos and timeshare operations throughout Zimbabwe and South Africa. It is listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange[1] and is a constituent of the Zimbabwe Industrial Index.

History

The group spun off from the Delta Corporation in 2003 with Shingi Munyeza as CEO.[2]

In 2011, African Sun retrieved from the management of The Grace hotel in Rosebank, Cape Town.[3] By 2012, it managed 1,000 rooms.[2] In 2009, Africa Sun welcomed the US President Barack Obama in its Holiday Inn-managed hotel at the Accra airport (in Ghana).[4]

In January 2015, the company sold its hotels in Ghana and Nigeria, and announced a year later its withdrawal from regional operations to focus on its domestic market.[5] In March 2015, Shingi Munyeza left and E.T Shangwa became the CEO.[6]

In February 2016, African Sun paid a 200,000-dollar water bill to the municipality of Victoria Falls to clear its outstanding 383,000-dollar debt.[7] In July 2016, African Sun bought 2,050 m2 of the Harare Gardens to extend the Crowne Plaza Momomotapa Hotel, a deal that was in the pipes since 2010.[8] In October 2017, Brainworks, African Sun's holding company, was introduced in the JSE, the first Zimbabwe-based company to be indexed on the South African stock exchange.[9] In July 2018, Nkala stepped down, and Alex Makamure was appointed new chairman of the board.[10]

In 2018, the group's revenue grew 32% to 68.5 million dollars,[11] and it spent 5.8 million dollars in refurbishments.[12] In 2019, the Zimbabwe fuel protests led to revenue drops for African Sun.[13]

In May 2019, African Sun terminated its deal with the South-African Legacy Hospitality regarding the management of 5 of its hotels.[11] The deal was running since October 2015, and implied that Legacy Hospitality would refurbish the properties it would manage.[14] The deal cancellation was justified by "disagreements", and African sun assured that Legacy Hospitality was actually not in charge of refurbishing the hotels under management.[15] Two months later, Legacy Hospitality appealed the cancellation in court.[16]

References

  1. ^ "Zimbabwe Stock Exchange website". www.zimbabwe-stock-exchange.com. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
  2. ^ a b "African Sun: Zim, Africa and back". Theindependent.co.zw. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  3. ^ Firdose Moonda (2 September 2011). "Saying goodbye to Grace". Mg.co.za. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  4. ^ "Accra welcomes Barack Obama for his first Ghana visit". Eturbonews.com. 15 July 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  5. ^ "African Sun abandons regional operations". Chronicle.co.zw. 6 April 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  6. ^ herald.co.zw, Shingi Munyeza leaves African Sun, Zimbabwe, April 1, 2015
  7. ^ "African Sun settles municipality bill". Herald.co.zw. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  8. ^ "City-African Sun deal gets nod". Herald.co.zw. 9 July 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  9. ^ Phillip de Wet (6 April 2018). "The JSE-listed owner of the Victoria Falls Hotel promised Zim it would list there too. Now it wants a postponement until elections are done". Businessinsider.co.za. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  10. ^ "African Sun appoints new chairman". Herald.co.zw. 5 July 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  11. ^ a b Tawanda Musarurwa (6 May 2019). "African Sun ends Legacy flirtation". Herald.co.zw.
  12. ^ "African Sun spends US$5,8m on facelifts". Theindependent.co.zw. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  13. ^ Memory Mataranyika (8 October 2019). "Zimbabwe hoteliers count the cost of chaos". Fin24.com. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  14. ^ Tawanda Karombo (22 September 2015). "Legacy Hotels to help African Sun". Iol.co.za. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  15. ^ "African Sun opens up on Legacy deal". Herald.co.zw. 9 May 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  16. ^ Alois Vinga (8 July 2019). "Legacy challenges African Sun contract cancellation". Newzimbabwe.com. Retrieved 31 October 2019.

External links

  • Official website


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