Namibian multimillionaire businessman Jacobus Brandt (Koos Brandt) has recorded a $3.9-million increase in his stake in Windhoek-based investment holding Capricorn Group Limited since the start of the year.
Capricorn Group is a financial services conglomerate based in Namibia, Botswana, and Zambia that offers banking, micro-lending, property development, unit trusts, and asset management.
The group’s flagship brand, Bank Windhoek, is Namibia’s largest locally-owned bank and its second-largest commercial bank.
Brandt, who stepped down as chairman of Capricorn in 2017, owns 18.4 percent of the Windhoek-based investment firm. The majority of his wealth is derived from his stake in the leading financial services provider.
Capricorn shares on the Namibian Stock Exchange have increased by 5.8 percent since the start of the year, from a price of NAD13.03 ($0.712) at the start of the year to NAD13.79 ($0.753) at the time of writing this report. This increase is due to sustained investor buying activity in the company’s shares on the local bourse.
The market value of Brandt’s stake in Capricorn has increased by NAD72.6 million ($3.96 million) since the beginning of the year, from NAD1.24 billion ($67.99 million) on Jan. 1 to NAD1.32 billion ($71.95 million) on Feb. 21, as a result of the recent increase in the company’s share price.
The $3.9 million year-to-date increase in his stake, which increased the total market value of his holdings in the investment holding to nearly $72 million, solidifies his position as one of Namibia’s richest investors and businessmen.
The recent increase in the group’s share price follows a 16.6-percent increase in its profit from NAD983 million ($55.6 million) in 2021 to NAD1.14 billion ($64.5 million), driven by robust growth across its operating subsidiaries.
During the period under review, the group’s total assets increased from NAD56 billion ($3.16 billion) to NAD60.44 billion ($3.42 billion), while its liabilities rose from NAD48.91 billion ($2.77 billion) to NAD52.65 billion ($2.98 billion).
