Freedom Mashava, Visuals Editor 
MEIKLES Limited (Meikles) no longer intends to pursue mining activities, as the group focuses on the retention and consolidation of its investments in the supermarkets, hospitality, properties and security services segments.
This comes as the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed conglomerate has said it plans to unbundle and separately list Tanganda Tea Company before year-end, as part of an ongoing restructure.
Meikles Limited executive chairman, John Moxon.
“The group no longer intends to pursue mining activities,” Meikles said in a circular last week.
The company said it plans to grow its investments in new stores and upgrade existing stores over the next five years.
Meikles had pursued mining for years.
In 2012 Meikles, through its investment vehicle Meikles Resources, announced plans to venture into a lucrative but capital-intensive mining industry in partnership with Centar Asia Resources to establish Meikles Centar Mining (MCM), in which Meikles held a 51 percent share, with Centar holding the balance.
In 2014, MCM said it has received regulatory approvals for a $3 million transaction to acquire 51 percent equity from Matabeleland mining firm DGL Investments (Imviga), the same year they obtained a special mining grant prefiguring a diversification from its trademark hospitality, retail and agriculture businesses.
Fast forward to 2016, the group’s chairman John Moxon announced that Centar had withdrawn from Zimbabwe.
The group had subsequently put its mining ambitions on hold.
Meanwhile, the group says its supermarket segment achieved growth in both profits and operating cash flows during prolonged tough trading conditions since March 2020, worsened by disruptions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In June 2021 the company disposed of the building located at 90 Speke Avenue, which is the only asset of Ninety Speke (Private) Limited. The disposal proceeds have been ring-fenced to develop and increase the value of the remaining properties,” Meikles said.
For the hospitality segment, both The Victoria Falls Hotel and Cape Grace Hotel are renowned for providing premium service to high-end international tourists in their respective jurisdictions.
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