The decision by President Jacob Zuma, who ordered the Treasury on Friday to freeze assets linked to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his associates, will not affect the luxury Michelangelo Hotel in Sandton, says Legacy Group Holdings chairman Bart Dorrestein.

Last week it was reported in media that the Libyan Investment Authority – the Libyan government’s investment arm through the Libya Africa Investment Portfolio – owned the Libya Arab African Investment Company (LAAICO), which has a stake in the South African tourism and leisure sector through a 100% shareholding in Ensemble Hotel Holdings. Ensemble owns the Michelangelo Hotel in Sandton and is a minority shareholder in Legacy, which owns or manages a portfolio of 19 luxury leisure and tourism properties.

“Neither Gaddafi nor any of his family own the Michelangelo Hotel or have shares in the Legacy Hotels & Resorts. At the time of the purchase of a stake in the Michelangelo Hotel and shares in Legacy, the purchasers were a Middle East-based company in which LAAICO had a majority share. We understand that LAAICO now directly owns all the shares in Ensemble. LAAICO is a Libyan state-owned investment company for the benefit of the people of Libya and operates in a similar fashion to any other Sovereign State fund. The management of Ensemble and its chairman have reconfirmed that the Gaddafi family have no interest in or control over LAAICO’s investments.”

Meanwhile, Dorrestein has pledged that the Legacy group’s LAAICO minority shareholders will not pay any dividends back to the Libyan government until the political situation in Libya stabilises.

Dorrestein went on to say that these developments would not affect operations in South Africa. “It’s business as usual. South African shareholders will still receive dividends. There is no concern on our side.”