Proprietary investments

Strand Hanson uses its own resources to invest in carefully selected opportunities where the team can identify future growth potential.

Strand Hanson operates a genuine merchant banking model, making direct investments from our balance sheet into certain assets and client companies identified as having high growth potential.

This capability enables us to take advantage of unique or early stage investment opportunities that are identified internally, whether in London and our African office, or through our network of contacts and clients. Being management owned, we are also able to offer flexibility in fee structure which may allow us to take a portion of our fees in equity or quasi-equity, which may be of particular interest to earlier-stage businesses.

Through our merchant banking division we have invested in 13 African countries to date, including the Comoros, Nigeria, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, South Africa and Ethiopia:

Comoros: we are financial adviser to, and a substantial shareholder in, an oil & gas exploration company with 3 blocks secured in the Comoros, near the Rovuma basin in Mozambique where 180 TCF of gas was discovered by ENI and Anadarko. Here we have partnered with a larger experienced multinational O&G exploration and production player and look forward to developing the asset up the value curve.

Botswana: we act as financial adviser and significant shareholder to a shale oil & gas explorer and developer with sizeable and well positioned acreage. The company is currently in discussions to farm out 25-50% of its flagship asset for $2-5m, prior to a possible listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Ethiopia: we acted as financial adviser to, and were a founding shareholder of, a local, Israeli backed castor oil producer.

Zambia: We act as founding shareholder and financial advisor to a copper mining company with operations in Zambia and Botswana, assisting in taking it from an early stage private company to one that is now preparing for a listing.