By Nick Wilson

This increases the JSE-listed group's interest in Boschendal to 26,57%.

Last year in June, IFA SA announced it had acquired a 19,25% interest in Boschendal for R53,9m.

At the time, it said the development plans for the estate included an upmarket retirement village with 500 individual homes, a boutique hotel and a mixed-use development of a shopping centre, offices and flats.

Phillip de Sylva, vice-president of operations for Africa and the Indian Ocean at IFA Hotels & Resorts, said on Monday the group would not reveal the amount paid for the 7,32% interest.

De Sylva said he did not think it was "right" for the market to infer the value of the Boschendal investment from the price paid for the 7,32% interest.

De Sylva said the company was trading under a cautionary notice. "We are working on some other deals that we hope to come to the market with in the near future," he said.

The acquisition of the Boschendal interest is part of a "set strategy" by IFA SA's Kuwait-based parent company, IFA Hotels & Resorts Kuwait, to expand its geographic reach as a global developer of mixed-use integrated resorts.

Werner Burger, president and chief operating officer of IFA Hotels & Resorts Kuwait, said on Monday  the "tangible results" of the global expansion strategy were "there for all to see".

"Apart from Boschendal and Zimbali (where IFA SA has a large investment), IFA SA recently announced its entry into the Namibian hospitality market in a R550m joint venture with Ohlthaver & List," said Burger in a Stock Exchange News Service announcement.

Business Day