The story of any company, particularly a company that has been in business for 93 years, is punctuated with both trials and successes. During our efforts over nine decades, we have enjoyed several milestones which form an indelible part of the Group's history:

• In 1914, Michel Louis established his wholesale concern known as Michel Louis & Sons;
  
  
• In 1933, Michel Louis & Sons ordered four tons of rice from a reputable supplier. The request was processed incorrectly and an order of 40 tons was recorded. The dispatch again misunderstood the order and 400 tons of rice was delivered. The order was accepted under certain conditions, and within a few months, as a result of the war, the company was the only wholesaler who had rice available as food became hard to find;
  
  
• Michel Louis imported an assortment of teas from Ceylon and when selecting a name for his brand of teas, he chose the first two letters of his first name - MI - and the first two letters of his surname - LO - and so the name "MILO" was established which Nestle later purchased from him;
  
  
• In 1980, Colia Louis sourced a landmark building at a bargain price and offered it to an established client. The client's response, "if it's such a bargain why don't you buy it" led to the formation of the Group's property strategy, namely to purchase and then manage a building comprehensively;
  
  
• During the 1980s, the Group was responsible for building more than 1,000 homes in Bloemfontein and these homes remain highly sought after;
  
  
• In 1995, after serving in the Group for seven years, Alan Louis was asked to assume leadership, and he, along with other key leaders, transformed the Group into its current status as a global Property, Financial Services and Technology enterprise.