HARARE - Lifestyle Holdings’ (Lifestyle) plans to set up retail operations in South Africa (SA).

This follows shareholders’ approval last Friday to delist the diversified group from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE).

Lifestyle, which recently set up TN Harlequin Luxaire International Limited (TNHLI) in Mauritius, intends to make Lifestyle a wholly-owned subsidiary of the new Mauritian unit, necessitating the delisting from the local bourse.

Alexander Gonese, managing director of Lifestyle’s subsidiary TN Financial Services, said completion of the group’s takeover by TNHLl would enable the setting up of retail operations in SA — Africa’s largest economy.

He said the SA operations, TN South Africa (TNSA), will be directly owned by the Mauritian operation, circumventing Zimbabwe’s country risk.

Gonese said two vehicles will be used to raise funding to finance the retail operations of TNSA.

“Once we have done that, the operations in South Africa will be able to buy stock in from the Zimbabwean operations. That is how capital then flows into local operations,” said Gonese.

He added that management had already begun negotiations with South African financiers who have indicated willingness to finance credit operations.

Gonese said they also expressed interest in investing in either South African or Mauritius-based operations.

“Those are the initiatives that we are saying we will bring to shareholders after this first phase has been passed,”Gonese said.

This comes as the Securities Commission of Zimbabwe (SecZim)’s bid to block Lifestyle Holdings (Lifestyle) delisting from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) hit a brick wall after the High Court dismissed its application.

SecZim had filed an urgent application seeking an order to bar Lifestyle’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to get shareholders’ approval of its delisting plan.

Gonese said SecZim’s application was dismissed on the basis that it was not urgent. - Kudzi Chawafambira