Speed of transformation at Super Group may have left market, and some employees, behind

While researching this story, the FM phoned the Super Group head office to speak to the group's new chairman, Peter Malungani. "There is no-one here by that name," responded a telephone receptionist.

This may have been a mistake, but it may also be a reflection of how Super Group's accelerated transformation has caught the market, and even some of its staff, by surprise.

According the Top Empowerment Companies survey, Super Group is the most empowered transport company on the JSE Securities Exchange.

The group occupies the 32nd position in the survey's overall BEE rankings. Its position is thanks to a relationship established five years ago between Super Group and black-owned company Peu Investment Group, led by Malungani.

The two groups concluded an agreement last year, which secures a 25,1% stake in Super Group for Peu and installed Malungani as the new chairman. Peu also brought in two more black directors for the Super Group board.

The groups first made an agreement at operating level, with Peu taking a 30% interest in Super Group's fleet management subsidiary FleetAfrica.

This 30% stake will now be exchanged for Super Group's ordinary shares. Peu has secured a loan of R300m to acquire further shares in Super Group to bring it closer to a 25,1% ownership. Peu will also be awarded shares for bringing in new business.

"This will result in Super Group being the most empowered company in all the industries in which we operate," says Super Group CEO Larry Lipschitz in the latest annual report.

"We are satisfied and proud with what has been done so far, though there are other areas that still need attention," says Malungani.

He says the group will be concentrating on advancing empowerment through procurement and employment equity. "We have done well at FleetAfrica, where 50% of executive management is black," says Malungani. "We still have a long way to go to emulate this achievement at the top and in other subsidiaries."

Boosted by its relationship with Peu, FleetAfrica has won many lucrative government contracts. These include multibillion rand fleet management contracts with the city of Johannesburg and the national transport department.

These contracts are only the beginning of the trend for government and other public-sector institutions to outsource fleet management. This partly explains the relatively high level of empowerment activity in the transport sector, which includes Grindrod, Unitrans, Cargo Carriers and Putco.

Super Group beat these companies to the top position on the broad-based BEE scorecard. The group has a 17% black board, giving it a score of 43% for management, and 56% black representation in its overall workforce.

It spends an equivalent of 1% of its payroll on training and 49% of the people it trains are from previously disadvantaged groups.