For the first time since the inception of the Awards, both Sunday Times Business Leader of the Year and Sunday Times Lifetime Achievement awards were bestowed on the same recipient, Dr Christo Wiese. This was at the annual Sunday Times Top 100 Companies Awards banquet held in Sandton last night, where Fortress Income Fund Ltd was announced as the Sunday Times Top Company for 2015. Only five companies obtained status as Sunday Times Royal Companies.
The Sunday Times Top 100 Companies tracks the best-performing businesses on the JSE, acknowledging those with the highest shareholder returns over the past five years. The results are highly anticipated by the business sector each year. With an average annual compound return of 72.70%, Fortress Income Fund Limited earned top spot in the rankings.
Mark Stevens, CEO of Fortress Income Fund Limited, celebrated the achievement saying, “We are honoured to be recognised by our peers in receiving this acknowledgement. It has been a true team effort and everyone at Fortress deserves our thanks for a job well done. Moving forward it’s business as usual as we strive to continue maximising value and providing our shareholders with great returns.”
Sunday Times editor, Phylicia Oppelt, says what makes the Top 100 Companies so successful “is that the recipients of the individual awards are voted for by members of the business community. It is therefore an exceptional endorsement of Dr Wiese that he received two prestigious accolades from his peers”.
The Business Leader of the Year Award is regarded as the ultimate accolade, with the recipient being decided by CEOs of the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies from the previous year. Dr Wiese joins the ranks of previous winners Johan van Zyl, Michael Jordaan, Phuthuma Nhleko, Johann Rupert, Brian Joffe, Graham Mackay, Maria Ramos, Adrian Gore and Whitey Basson. Similarly, the Lifetime Achievement Award recognises Dr Wiese’s consistent contribution to the South African economy.
The Sunday Times Royal Companies are those which have placed in the top 20 positions of the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies for three consecutive years. This year these companies are Coronation Fund Managers, EOH Holdings, Mondi, Mr Price Group and Naspers.
| RANK | COMPANY | AVERAGE ANNUAL |
| COMPOUND RETURN | ||
| (%) | ||
| 1 | FORTRESS INCOME FUND | 72.70 |
| 2 | TRUSTCO GROUP HOLDINGS | 70.43 |
| 3 | EOH HOLDINGS | 69.38 |
| 4 | TASTE HOLDINGS | 53.06 |
| 5 | CORONATION FUND MANAGERS | 51.47 |
| 6 | AFRIMAT | 49.38 |
| 7 | BRAIT SE | 48.28 |
| 8 | CAPITAL & COUNTIES PROPERTIES plc | 47.76 |
| 9 | PSG GROUP | 47.27 |
| 10 | ONELOGIX GROUP | 45.53 |
| 11 | MONDI plc | 44.92 |
| 12 | NASPERS | 42.09 |
| 13 | NEW EUROPE PROPERTY INVESTMENTS plc | 42.07 |
| 14 | CONDUIT CAPITAL | 42.06 |
| 15 | SUPER GROUP | 41.18 |
| 16 | CONSOLIDATED INFRASTRUCTURE GROUP | 40.37 |
| 17 | MR PRICE GROUP | 40.06 |
| 18 | CASHBUILD | 39.34 |
| 19 | RESILIENT PROPERTY INCOME FUND | 38.40 |
| 20 | PIONEER FOODS GROUP | 38.07 |
| 21 | STEINHOFF INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS | 36.94 |
| 22 | FAMOUS BRANDS | 36.49 |
| 23 | WOOLWORTHS HOLDINGS | 35.81 |
| 24 | MEDICLINIC INTERNATIONAL | 35.70 |
| 25 | AVI | 32.98 |
| 26 | ASPEN PHARMACARE HOLDINGS | 32.87 |
| 27 | DISCOVERY | 32.60 |
| 28 | CAPITEC BANK HOLDINGS | 31.96 |
| 29 | METAIR INVESTMENTS | 31.67 |
| 30 | AFROCENTRIC INVESTMENT CORPORATION | 31.47 |
| 31 | ZEDER INVESTMENTS | 31.39 |
| 32 | OCEANA GROUP | 30.90 |
| 33 | FIRSTRAND | 30.46 |
| 34 | ITALTILE | 29.86 |
| 35 | SPUR CORPORATION | 29.33 |
| 36 | RMB HOLDINGS | 29.32 |
| 37 | NET 1 UEPS TECHNOLOGIES Inc | 29.26 |
| 38 | GRAND PARADE INVESTMENTS | 28.70 |
| 39 | METROFILE HOLDINGS | 28.53 |
| 40 | PEREGRINE HOLDINGS | 28.33 |
| HOWDEN AFRICA HOLDINGS | 28.33 | |
| 42 | COMPAGNIE FIN RICHEMONT | 28.23 |
| 43 | LIFE HEALTHCARE GROUP | 28.17 |
| 44 | NETCARE | 27.80 |
| 45 | KAP INDUSTRIAL HOLDINGS | 27.52 |
| 46 | BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO plc | 26.65 |
| 47 | SANLAM | 25.78 |
| 48 | HYPROP INVESTMENTS | 25.68 |
| 49 | SABMILLER plc | 25.44 |
| 50 | OMNIA HOLDINGS | 25.10 |
| 51 | OLD MUTUAL plc | 24.87 |
| 52 | CLIENTELE LIFE ASSURANCE | 24.80 |
| 53 | VODACOM GROUP | 24.78 |
| 54 | MUSTEK | 24.54 |
| 55 | ELB GROUP | 24.10 |
| 56 | REMGRO | 23.26 |
| 57 | DISTELL GROUP | 23.20 |
| 58 | CAPITAL PROPERTY FUND | 22.93 |
| 59 | PINNACLE HOLDINGS | 22.06 |
| 60 | CLICKS GROUP | 21.91 |
| 61 | THE BIDVEST GROUP | 21.84 |
| 62 | THE SPAR GROUP | 21.66 |
| 63 | INVICTA HOLDINGS | 21.04 |
| 64 | BRIMSTONE INVESTMENT CORPORATION | 20.81 |
| 65 | THE FOSCHINI GROUP | 20.50 |
| 66 | ADVTECH | 20.44 |
| 67 | MIX TELEMATICS | 20.23 |
| 68 | SEPHAKU HOLDINGS | 20.18 |
| 69 | REINET INVESTMENTS S.C.A | 20.02 |
| 70 | SA CORPORATE REAL ESTATE FUND | 19.86 |
| 71 | DATATEC | 19.83 |
| 72 | ARB HOLDINGS | 19.80 |
| 73 | PHUMELELA GAMING AND LEISURE | 19.68 |
| 74 | SANTAM | 19.53 |
| 75 | J S E | 19.38 |
| 76 | BLUE LABEL TELECOMS | 19.23 |
| 77 | MMI HOLDINGS | 18.95 |
| 78 | INVESTEC plc | 18.92 |
| 79 | LIBERTY HOLDINGS | 18.70 |
| 80 | TRANSPACO | 18.14 |
| 81 | BARLOWORLD | 17.39 |
| 82 | REDEFINE PROPERTIES | 17.20 |
| TRADEHOLD | 17.20 | |
| 84 | CITY LODGE HOTELS | 17.18 |
| 85 | GROWTHPOINT PROPERTIES | 17.10 |
| 86 | PAN AFRICAN RESOURCES plc | 16.01 |
| 87 | IMPERIAL HOLDINGS | 16.00 |
| 88 | NAMPAK | 15.60 |
| 89 | HOSKEN CONSOLIDATED INVESTMENTS | 15.51 |
| 90 | ASTRAL FOODS | 15.47 |
| 91 | VUKILE PROPERTY FUND | 15.38 |
| 92 | TELKOM SA SOC | 15.16 |
| 93 | OCTODEC INVESTMENTS | 15.14 |
| 94 | INTU PROPERTIES plc | 15.13 |
| 95 | EMIRA PROPERTY FUND | 14.94 |
| 96 | HUDACO INDUSTRIES | 14.92 |
| 97 | COMBINED MOTOR HOLDINGS | 14.67 |
| 98 | NEDBANK GROUP | 14.51 |
| 99 | SHOPRITE HOLDINGS | 14.43 |
| 100 | SYCOM PROPERTY FUND | |
