Illovo Sugar

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Illovo SA
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryAgriculture
Founded1891 (1891)
HeadquartersuMhlanga KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Area served
Africa
Key people
Ricky Govender (Managing Director)[1]
ProductsSugar
ParentABF Sugar
Websiteillovosugarsa.co.za

Illovo SA, officially Illovo Sugar South Africa, is a South African sugar producer, founded in 1891. The company is headquartered in uMhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of UK-based ABF Sugar.[2] Illovo derives its sugar cane from a total of 10 farms, eight of which are company-owned.

History

Until the 1960s, Illovo was a subsidiary of the General Mining Company of South Africa, which sold a 49% shareholding in the business to Tate & Lyle in 1969.[3]

This was then sold in 1977 to C G Smith (Sugars) Ltd of Natal.[4] Today it is a subsidiary of Associated British Foods Plc., which purchased 51% of the issued share capital for more than £400m in 2006.[5]

In 2016, ABF bought the remaining 49% of the company's share capital.[6][7]

Operations

As of 2026, Illovo operates eight Mill Cum Planter (MCP) farms. These are Beaumont, Esperanza, Glenroy, Isonti, Paddock, Ravenhill, Seafield, and Sezela. In addition, the company leases an additional two farms.[1]

References

  1. "Illovo - About Us". Illovo. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  2. "Illovo - Homepage". Illovo. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  3. Antony Hugill, Sugar and All That: A History of Tate & Lyle (London: Gentry Books, 1978), p.308.
  4. Lyle, John O. (25 January 1978), "Chairman's statement", Tate & Lyle: Preliminary announcement of profits for year ended 30 September 1977.
  5. Baker, Martin (10 December 2006). "The Rainmaker: 21st-century Gordon Gekko". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  6. Phillips, Lloyd (14 April 2016). "ABF offers to buy out the rest of Illovo Sugar". Farmer's Weekly. Retrieved 2017-06-27.
  7. "Illovo Sugar Limited". Full Disclosure 2016. Retrieved 2017-06-27.