Brian Joffe (pictured), founder of Bidvest, has successfully listed his latest venture, Long4Life, a R2 billion investment firm, on the JSE’s main board.
Speaking to investors at the JSE during the listing earlier today, Joffee said "today is a new chapter", also saying that he saw this as the launch of his new "long-term game".
The entity aims to be more nimble than traditional private equity funds and will build up a diversified portfolio of listed and unlisted assets. Joffe put in R100 million of the capital himself, with Standard Bank and Investec also coming on board with significant investments. With no additional capital needed, the company will focus on medium to long-term investments. It will pursue investments predominantly with a lifestyle focus, including businesses in the beauty, outdoor, sport, retirement villages, and restaurant sectors. It is already in discussions to buy Sorbet, the popular beauty store brand, for R130 million. The plan going forward is to look for turnarounds, nonperforming assets that can be fixed.
