Prospects for Business in the Era of Coronavirus
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s one of the most successful businesswomen in South African and the UK, where she has built major hospitality and staffing businesses, Penny Streeter knows what it takes when you have to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again. “Tourism and other sectors are impacted by COVID-19 and lockdown, but Overberg and Western Cape have huge potential commercially. The region can bounce back. When you are down, the only way is up; I’ve been there. What it takes is hard work, intelligently applied,” she says. Penny started her first recruitment company in the UK aged just 22 - but after it collapsed and her marriage fell apart she had to move into a homeless refuge for two years. She was pregnant with her third child. Today she owns Benguela Cove Lagoon Wine estate, near Hermanus, and has invested heavily to create an international wine brand and tourist destination. In 2016 she took a winning formula for South African wine farmstyle hospitality to the UK, buying a 202 hectare estate and creating a 15 hectare vineyard in West Sussex, at Mannings Heath Golf and Wine Estate. A second property was bought at Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens in 2017, which saw the first commercial planting of Pinotage in the UK. Restart Penny’s second venture in the recruitment sector, after the first setback, was in 1995. She went on to win a string of awards, including the Financial Times ‘Fast Track 100’ prize as the fastest growing UK company, and an OBE from the Queen for ‘Services to Enterprise’. With strong family connections still in South Africa, in 2004 Penny moved back-office sales and ICT operations to Cape Town. The A24 Group then launched its medical staffing service here. Today she employs over 300 staff in Bellville and operates two nursing agencies: Nursing Services Of South Africa and Ambition 24hours South Africa.
With the A24 Group thriving, Penny branched out into wine production and hospitality with Penny Streeter the purchase of the Benguela Cove vineyard in the Walker Bay wine region in 2013. The vineyard was part of the residential and wine farm estate where Penny lived and became available to buy when the previous owner died. Major investment followed, in a 450-ton winery and in bringing the 173 acres of vines up to the environmental standards recommended by Wines of South Africa (WoSA) and its Sustainable Wine South Africa (SWSA) programme. Opportunity “I knew nothing about wine and vineyards when the estate became available, but it’s rare for a wine farm to come on the market; you seize opportunities where you can. To minimise risk I try to hire the best talent wherever possible and recruited Johann Fourie as cellar master.” The estate has 65 hectares of vines, which produced 520 tons of grapes in the most recent harvest, and 150,000 bottles. Cultivars comprise Sauvignon Blanc at 45%, Shiraz 25%.and others. “You have to find a market niche for your business and build a brand around it. WIth Benguela we have developed ecotourism, which is a big attraction to the area, with Hermanus and the whale coast close by. We offer wine tastings on the lagoon for visitors to experience the vineyard, set in the beautiful UNESCO-designated Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve. Also we developed children’s adventure attractions as a major draw for families, where there were none before in the area.” “The key now for businesses is to obsessively test and monitor what customers want and respond. Your focus must be on profit. Tourists will return to Overberg because so many people from the UK and other countries love the wine, the climate - the whole culture. When they come they will attract new investment. We must be ready and market now, to get our message out there about the delights of this incredible region.”
For further information: www.benguelacove.co.za Tel: 087 357 0637 | Benguela Cove Lagoon Wine Estate R43 Walker Bay Hermanus | info@benguelacove.co.za
