My opinion on #HCI at a new 52-week high 48% from its September 2025 low. I was at the AGM in late-August 2025 It was only back in late-September 2025 that investment holding company $JSEHCI Hoskyn Consolidated Investments was at a bare bones low of R118.91 a share It was unloved as the market - rightly - believed that CEO Johnny Copelyn was not that serious on creating value given the HUGE (then) discount to NAV >60%. Even a big blue chip institutional shareholder threw in the towel and sold their shares I attended as an analyst & shareholder (since 2022) the #HCI AGM in late-August 2025 I took copious notes & asked the first AGM question to the CEO where his reply to me lasted over 1 hour of detailed comment. I fed these comments and dtailed feedback notes back to my institutional base post the AGM In synopsis, CEO Copelyn said; #HCI - with a large property portfolio - would exit and could raise @R1,2 billion. That has occurred as #HCI has sold various property stakes and assets over the past months #HCI would consider selling its 45% controlling stake in the valuable $JSESSU Southern Sun. That stake today is worth R6.1 billion or 41% of #HCI present market cap. CEO Copelyn wanted "R16.00 - R17.00 a share" for the premium asset ... highlighting trapped value within #HCI. That potential remains untapped #HCI and its 10% stake in the offshore Venus oil exploration site in Namibia was slumbering as the low oil price and lack of (then) commitment by @TotalEnergies to formalise the Final Investment Decision (FID) meant the stake sat there With the Middle East war and oil having soared from US$60 to US$120 a barrel, there has been much chatter that @TotalEnergies is set to imminently announce the FID and that will solidify the actual value of #HCI's stake in Venus as the exploration prospect would move towards infrastructure, drilling and production (2029/30) BUT it would enhance the stakes actual value At the AGM CEO Copelyn stated to me "within the next year, I'm pretty confident the oil assets will have far more clarity and value, we just need to be patient and wait for the pieces to fall into place, they are currently underway"... seems he was again right #HCI today is at a new 52-week high of R176.10 a year-to-date return of 11.54% but from the September 22nd 2025 low its 48.1% Chatter in the oil blogs is that @TotalEnergies is set to finally decide on the Venus FID in July. That ties in to the Q2 results period for the French oil major Speaking at the Namibia International Energy Conference (NIEC) 2026, TotalEnergies Namibia Managing Director and Country Chair Mariam Kane-Garcia said the company is progressing towards a near-term investment decision, subject to the completion of key technical and regulatory processes This, pending update alongside the oil price asset unlock at #HCI is - in my view - the reason why #HCI share price has pushed higher If the FID is confirmed and #HCI then updates the market on the 'value' of its 10% Venus stake ... the stock (may) go higher pending the oil situation

The R1.3 Billion Power Move $JSESSU Southern Sun has officially acquired a majority stake in the Sandton Sun & Towers. They purchased this stake from the retail giant Pareto Limited. The transaction is valued at approximately R1.3 billion. Previously, a consortium owned these iconic hotel assets. This group included Pareto, Liberty Two Degrees, and Standard Bank. Now, Southern Sun moves from manager to primary owner. This shift gives them total control over these prestigious landmarks. More moves within the greater asset base of $JSEHCI Hosken Consolidated Investments where #HCI owns 45% of #SSU and where the hotel group is #HCI largest asset presently given the price slump in gaming business $JSETSG Tsogo Sun I've already commented that at the #HCI AGM back in August 2025, #HCI CEO Johnny Copelyn suggested that he would be open to offers for the group's stake in #SSU but wanted a healthy premium for such a strong brand asset

Short snap update on $JSEHCI Hosken Consolidated Investments Seems a rocket has been put up the ass at $JSEHCI Hosken Consolidated Investments. They have done more wheeling & dealing the past weeks that I can recall in some time BUT to be fair, looking at my extensive notes from the #HCI AGM from August 28th where I asked the opening question on the low share price, widening NAV and unlock potential....CEO Johnny Copelyn in a 1H05 minute reply did stated "that unlocking value from property sales and even the sale of #HCI stake in hotelier $JSESSU Southern Sun would be considered as a means of repaying debt and unlocking value ... alongside (possibly) even unbundling some other listed assets owned" as my detail notes recorded Thus, #HCI given its recent activity is just following through - perhaps more swiftly than many #HCI shareholders anticipated (me being one) with their stated intent to sell assets to reduce debt December 2025 was a busy month at the #HCI Seapoint head office December 4th Sold the Checkers building in Regents Road, Seapoint where #HCI owned 70.59% for R943m (their cut R666 million) December 10th Buys back shares at average of 13311 cents - pretty much near the low of the year - buying 4,862,760 shares for R647.266 million (on December 17th Coronation discloses its exited pretty much all of its once sizeable stake in #HCI) January 7th #HCI discloses its sold its 65% stake in the Whale Route Mall in Hermanus for R600 million. Debt sits at R328 million and the balance proceeds #HCI gets 80% of So, of the R1,2 billion of property CEO Copelyn said #HCI could sell ... they have had a pretty active month so far On the news, in December #HCI rose 19.4% its best performance in eons but has since slipped back. #HCI trading at 14797 cents with a discount of 50.7% Year-to-date #HCI is -5.15% but is 18.0% up from its November 10th 2025 low In yesterday's property sale news #HCI was thinly traded with only 7,615 shares traded With the global oil price at lows due to #Trump and #HCI having a 10% stake in the Venus field off the coast of Namibia and awaiting a decision IF @TotalEnergies will push the button to develop the field ... THAT may be one issue holding back the #HCI share price as #HCI has in the past placed a fair bit of value on its oil play assets - and oil currently is not flavour of the investment month Makes you wonder what's next at #HCI given the sudden urgency to get stuff done ?

Solid news for those @JSE_Group stocks with a tourism & leisure focus like $JSECLH City Lodge Holdings, $JSESSU Southern Sun Hotels and $JSECMH Combined Motor Holdings (where their First Car Rentals division is a significant profit contributor to group) Worth watching the inbound summer figures though I wonder how much better could it have been as some gloss must have been removed from some traveller's pockets by the stronger rand year-on-year

Southern Sun $JSESSU - the share price is up 65% since May 2024. But in Cape Town, competitors have more than 40 new hotels in the pipeline. The increased competition in Cape Town, may put pressure on their average Room Rate Growth and result in lower Revenue and EBITDAR.

Over the past 5 years $JSESSU has gone from half the value of $JSETSG to double its value. The initial pricing might have been wrong (due to Covid fears?) but this is an astounding reversal of fortunes

$JSEHCI Hosken Consolidaed Investments largest asset $JSETSG Tsogo (well its slipping with $JSESSU Southern Sun increasing) ... continuing to take #HCI lower as investors worry over the gaming issue and the rise & market share gains of online gaming competition #TSG were so late to the online party they are now having their lunch & tea eaten The oil issue inside #HCI also remains opaque to investors as to what CEO Copelyn will do with the various assets As I wrote to clients on December 30th 2024, I'd wager with #HCI now gaining control of African Energy Corp as well as Impact Oil & Gas and consolidating #HCI interests in the South African blocks... Could #HCI meld all the oil,assets into Africa Energy Corp, an offshore listed vehicle much as they did with $JSEMKR Montauk on @Nasdaq way back in the day ?

I wrote a small-cap stocks on steroids feature in the October @FinancialMail Investors Monthly I see many of the selection have had a nice run with today $JSEIVT Invicta Holdings hitting a new 52-week high The list were (then) and current price gains since the October 2024 copy $JSEAFT Afrimat -0.07% $JSEART Argent Industrial 0.01% $JSECSB Cashbuild 14.3% $JSECMH Combined Motor Holdings -6.4% $JSEFBR Famous Brands 0.04% $JSEIVT Invicta Holdings 13.9% $JSENPK Nampak 8.9% $JSESSU Southern Sun 5.1% From time of FM copy submission to current the JSE Small Cap Index is 0.09% and I remain happy with the entire selection into 2025

$JSESSU Spare a thought for Southern Sun shareholders on a day where everything is up & only a few shares are slightly down ... SSU is down ⬇️ 5.64% on decent volume The only stock down a lot today in big volume One of the greenest days Ive seen on my screens in a while!

Ongoing recovery in hotelier $JSESSU Southern Sun Trading update indicated revenue (mid) 102% with HEPS range 48.1cps to 57.1cps versus previous YE22 loss of -8.2cps Hotel occupancy at 51.5% vs 30.6% in FY22 & not back at pre-Covid levels of 59.3% Encouraging statements