REG - Gemfields Group Ltd - New Director - Louis du Preez

GemfieldsAnnouncement

25/06/2025 14:15

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RNS Number : 4140O  Gemfields Group Limited  25 June 2025

Incorporated in Guernsey. Guernsey registration number: 47656

South African external company registration number: 2009/012636/10

Share code on JSE:GML (General Segment of JSE Main Board) / AIM:GEM

ISIN: GG00BG0KTL52   |   LEI: 21380017GAVXTCYS5R31

("Gemfields" or the "Group" or the "Company")

 

New Director - Louis du Preez

LONDON, 25 JUNE 2025

Gemfields is pleased to announce the appointment of Louis du Preez to
Gemfields' Board as Non-Executive Director from today. Louis is a
representative of Rational Expectations (Pty) Ltd, per the disclosures in the
Company's recent Prospectus published on 20 May 2025. Louis du Preez's
appointment follows regulatory due diligence and the approval of shareholders
at the Company's Annual General Meeting held earlier this morning.

Louis du Preez background

Louis du Preez qualified as an attorney of the High Court of South Africa in
1997 after completing his articles. An accomplished legal and corporate
executive, he has extensive experience in corporate governance, commercial
strategy and cross-border transactions. Mr du Preez became a partner at Jan S
de Villiers in 1998. Following the firm's merger with Werksmans Attorneys in
2009, he served on the national executive committee, playing a pivotal role in
shaping the firm's strategic direction until 2017.

Mr du Preez has held multiple board positions across a number of
organisations. Mr du Preez was appointed as a non-executive director at KAP
Industrial Holdings Limited in 2017 (and resigned in 2019) and as director at
Pepkor Holdings Limited in 2018 (a directorship he still holds). In 2017, Mr
du Preez joined Steinhoff International (now Ibex Holdings) as General
Counsel, progressing to Commercial Director in December 2017 before being
appointed Group CEO effective 1 January 2019. He currently still fulfils the
role of Group CEO of Ibex Holdings. With a deep understanding of corporate
restructuring, financial oversight and strategic decision-making, Mr du Preez
continues to contribute his expertise at all levels of business leadership. Mr
du Preez is a South African citizen.

Louis du Preez current and previous (held within past five years) Board
appointments

 Company  Name                                                                  Current/Former
 Ainsley Holdings (Pty) Ltd                                                     Current
 Apac Holdco Limited                                                            Current
 Budvest (Pty) Ltd                                                              Current
 Coral Lagoon Investments 183 (Pty) Ltd                                         Current
 Conforama Holding SA                                                           Current
 FF HoldCo (Pty) Ltd                                                            Current
 Greenlit Brands Pty Ltd                                                        Current
 Ibex Investment Holdings Limited                                               Current
 Ibex UK Holdco Limited                                                         Current
 Ibex RSA Holdco Limited                                                        Current
 Ibex Retail Investments Limited (formerly known as Steenbok Newco 6A Limited)  Current
 Ibex Retail Investments Limited                                                Current
 Ibex Retail Investments Limited (Europe)                                       Current
 Ibex Topco B.V.                                                                Current
 K2022679730 (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd                                           Current
 Mons Bella Private Partner Investments (Pty) Ltd                               Current
 Newshelf 1093 (Pty) Ltd                                                        Current
 Pepkor Holdings Limited                                                        Current
 SAHPL(Pty) Ltd                                                                 Current
 SIHPL (Pty) Ltd                                                                Current
 Steenbok Lux Finco 1 SARL                                                      Current
 Steenbok Lux Finco 2 SARL                                                      Current
 Steenbok Newco 1 Ltd                                                           Current
 Steenbok Newco 1 Ltd                                                           Current
 Steenbok Newco 2A Ltd                                                          Current
 Steenbok Newco 2A Ltd                                                          Current
 Steenbok Newco 2B Limited                                                      Current
 Steenbok Newco 3 Limited                                                       Current
 Steenbok Newco 4 Limited                                                       Current
 Steenbok Newco 5 Limited                                                       Current
 Steenbok Newco 6 Limited                                                       Current
 Steenbok Newco 7 Limited                                                       Current
 Steenbok Newco 8 Limited                                                       Current
 Steenbok Newco 9 Limited                                                       Current
 Steinhoff Finance Holding GmbH                                                 Current
 Steinhoff International Holdings N.V.                                          Current
 Steinhoff Möbel Holding Alpha GmbH                                             Current
 Steinhoff UK Holdco Limited                                                    Current
 Steinhoff UK Holdings Limited                                                  Current
 Wiehahn International Holdings (Pty) Ltd                                       Current
 Bud Group Holdings (Pty) Ltd                                                   Former
 European Furniture New Holdco Limited                                          Former
 Iep Portfolio 1 (Pty) Ltd                                                      Former

 

Louis du Preez has been involved in the senior management of the Steinhoff
Group (now Ibex Group) since December 2017, after the public announcement of
the accounting irregularities on 5 December 2017. A number of entities within
the Steinhoff Group have undergone a number of restructuring processes in
various jurisdictions since then including the Netherlands, United Kingdom and
South Africa. These include (i) company voluntary arrangements (CVAs) of
Steinhoff Europe AG and Steinhoff Finance Holding GmbH in 2018-2019 in the
United Kingdom, (ii) a suspension of payment of Steinhoff International
Holdings N.V. in 2021 in the Netherlands, (iii) a section 155 scheme of
arrangement of SIHPL (Pty) Ltd in South Africa in 2022, and (iv) a Wet
Homologatie Onderhands Akkoord (WHOA) process of Steinhoff International
Holdings N.V. in mid 2023 in the Netherlands which resulted in the formation
of the new Ibex Group and the ultimate liquidation on a voluntary basis of
Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. in the second half of 2023 in the
Netherlands.

Blue Group Hold Co Limited, which Louis was a Director from 10 June 2019 until
14 November 2019, entered administration on 30 June 2020 following a period of
significant financial distress worsened by trading underperformance and the
onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The administration concluded on 4 July 2022.
Despite the successful asset sale and partial recovery for the secured
creditor-estimated between 61 percent to 69 percent, Blue Group Hold Co
Limited itself had no realisable assets and reported an estimated deficiency
of GBP 42.7 million to unsecured creditors. With no dividend expected for
unsecured creditors, the company was dissolved on 4 October 2022 following the
completion of statutory duties and final reporting.

Louis (aged 56) does not hold any legal or beneficial direct or indirect
interest in the ordinary shares of the Company.

There are no further disclosures to be made under Schedule 2 (g) of the AIM
Rules for Companies.

 

-ENDS-

 

Further information on Gemfields Group Limited can be found at:

 GEMFIELDSGROUP.COM (http://WWW.GEMFIELDSGROUP.COM)

 

To join our investor mailing list, please contact us on:
ir@gemfields.com (mailto:ir@gemfields.com)

 

ENQUIRIES

 

 GEMFIELDS                                      Sean Gilbertson / David Lovett / Ian Hughes

                                                ir@gemfields.com (mailto:ir@gemfields.com)

T:  +44(0) 20 7518 3400
 SPONSOR (JSE)                                  Investec Bank Limited
 NOMINATED ADVISER                              Panmure Liberum

(AIM) & BROKER
Scott Mathieson / Amrit Mahbubani / John More
                                                T: +44(0) 20 3100 2222
 PRESS ENQUIRES, GEMFIELDS HEAD OFFICE, LONDON  Helena Choudhury / Albertina Namburete

                                                helena.choudhury@gemfields.com (mailto:helena.choudhury@gemfields.com) /
                                                albertina.namburete@gemfields.com (mailto:albertina.namburete@gemfields.com)

 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON GEMFIELDS

 Gemfields is a world-leading responsible miner and marketer of coloured
 gemstones. Gemfields is the operator and 75% owner of both the Kagem emerald
 mine in Zambia (believed to be the world's single largest producing emerald
 mine) and the Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique (one of the most significant
 recently discovered ruby deposits in the world). In addition, Gemfields also
 holds controlling interests in various other gemstone mining and prospecting
 licences in Zambia, Mozambique, Ethiopia and Madagascar.

 Gemfields' outright ownership of Fabergé - an iconic and prestigious brand of
 exceptional heritage - enables Gemfields to optimise positioning, perception
 and consumer awareness of coloured gemstones through Fabergé designs,
 advancing the wider group's "mine and market" vision.

 Gemfields has developed a proprietary grading system and a pioneering auction
 platform to provide a consistent supply of coloured gemstones to downstream
 markets, a key component of Gemfields' business model that has played an
 important role in the growth of the global coloured gemstone sector.

 

 

 

GEMFIELDS

GEMFIELDS.COM (https://gemfields.com/) (https://gemfields.com/) | INVESTORS
(https://www.gemfieldsgroup.com/) (https://www.gemfieldsgroup.com/)
|FOUNDATION (https://www.gemfieldsfoundation.org/)

INSTAGRAM (https://www.instagram.com/gemfields/)
(https://www.instagram.com/gemfields/) | FACEBOOK
(https://www.facebook.com/Gemfields/) (https://www.facebook.com/Gemfields/) |
X (https://x.com/GemfieldsLtd?lang=en) | YOUTUBE
(https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCArCE0JFtakTP-tHq6v0KVg)

 

FABERGÉ

FABERGÉ.COM (https://www.faberge.com/) | INSTAGRAM
(https://www.instagram.com/officialfaberge/)
(https://www.instagram.com/officialfaberge/) | FACEBOOK
(https://www.facebook.com/OfficialFaberge)
(https://www.facebook.com/OfficialFaberge) | X (https://x.com/OfficialFaberge)
(https://x.com/OfficialFaberge) | YOUTUBE
(https://www.youtube.com/user/officialfaberge)

 

KAGEM MINING LIMITED LINKEDIN
(https://www.linkedin.com/company/kagem-mining-ltd)

MONTEPUEZ RUBY MINING LINKEDIN
(https://www.linkedin.com/company/montepuez-ruby-mining)

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