Indian businessman Analjit Singh has made a substantial investment in Franschhoek, buying three wine farms and a guest house. Last year Mr Singh bought a share in Mullineux Wines, now called Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines.
In Franschhoek Mr Singh has bought the wine estates Von Ortloff, Dieu Donné, and the neighbouring Dassenberg, which will be consolidated into Leeu Dassenberg Estates. Fynbos is to be planted and alien vegetation to be removed. This will become the foundation for a new luxury boutique hotel, a spa, a winery, and a wine tasting facility, which will be run under the guidance of General Manager Matthew Smith.
Mr Singh has also bought the Rusthof guest house on the top of main road in
Franschhoek, which will change its name to Leeu Rusthof Country Inn when it re-opens in summer, after refurbishments commence in July.
Mr Singh’s hospitality and property interests and new developments will be looked after for him by Hector de Galard. Mr Singh founded The Max India Group, which has interests in life insurance, health insurance, and health care. His local business investments have been made in his personal capacity, and he is using the ‘Leeu’ name, given that his surname means ‘lion’ in Sanskrit. He first came to our country during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and investigated investments at that time already. This led to his Continue reading →
On Friday evening I attended the launch of the 40th edition of the Diners Club International 2020 South African Wine Guide, at the Table Bay Hotel in the Waterfront, an event that is pretty much the same in format every year, yet was different this year, in the interest of making the event shorter. 
