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The South African
17-07-2025
- Business
- The South African
Gary Lubner: Humanitarian Charities and the Labour Party
Philanthropist Gary Lubner recently gave an interview with The Times where he discussed his support for the UK Labour Party and support for humanitarian causes. Lubner was previously CEO of multinational glass repair company Belron, but since retiring in 2023, he has dedicated his time to transforming lives through philanthropic initiatives and political giving. Although Gary Lubner has been a philanthropist for many years, he has recently become a major financial backer of the Labour Party. His involvement began in 2021 when he met the then-shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves at a business dinner and went on to visit her a few weeks later. Struck by the party's lack of infrastructure – and Reeves needing to book her own train tickets – Lubner donated £42,000 for her to hire a personal assistant. This initial donation soon grew into an ongoing commitment to the party. He has since donated over £5 million to help level the playing field between Labour and the better-funded Conservative and Reform Parties. Lubner doesn't ask for anything in return. He has told The Times that he simply aims to 'change the lives of millions of people,' made possible by working with the government. Moving forward, he plans to support Labour through future elections and help the party win these. Insiders consider him an anomaly in the political sphere – uninterested in recognition, policy influence, or peerage. 'The thing about Gary,' one of Keir Starmer's allies told The Times , 'is that he's the closest thing there is to a straightforwardly good person in politics.' Gary Lubner's commitment to supporting social and political organisations roots back to his upbringing in apartheid-era South Africa. As a child living in a white, wealthy, Jewish family, he was disconnected from the country's institutionalised racism. Lubner recalls seeing a photograph of a 1970s West Ham team in the magazine Shoot! This photo featured Bermudian striker Clyde Best, one of only two Black players on the squad. It was in this revelatory moment that Lubner decided to support West Ham. At the time, he had limited access to football and could only follow it through the BBC World Service and old copies of this magazine. 'It was all about this guy,' he told The Times . '[My brother and I] never knew that different races could play together.' When Lubner finished school, he worked for the police in Johannesburg and witnessed apartheid from the inside. Disturbed by what he saw, he resisted by warning individuals of incoming raids and falsifying paperwork to avoid imposing punishments on Black South Africans. Lubner told The Times : 'I made a very clear choice early on in the police force that I was going to do everything that I could to effectively go against the apartheid system.' Years later, working at Belron in the UK, Lubner reluctantly turned down a deal to sponsor West Ham in favour of sponsoring Chelsea. Nonetheless, he still has a 1970s West Ham poster in his office. During Gary Lubner's childhood, his family, who had once donated to the ruling National Party, became close with Nelson Mandela and supported the abolition of apartheid. Like other family members, Lubner also went on to work with Mandela, serving on the board of the Nelson Mandela Legacy Trust in the 1990s. He is still a trustee today. 'I spent quite a lot of time with [Mandela],' Lubner told The Times . 'He used to come over. I used to take my kids to meet him … He had been without kids for 27 years, so he just loved being with kids.' Critics have tried to reposition Lubner's family history to undermine him. One left-wing website became liable for libel damages, which Lubner donated to the Community Security Trust for British Jews and the World Central Kitchen. Gary Lubner's philanthropic efforts have been long-standing. Even during his education and corporate career, he sought ways to support others, founding Jews for Social Justice while studying accountancy at the University of Cape Town. Years later, he also persuaded senior executives at Belron to join him in forgoing some of their shares. This meant that every employee could receive a €10,000 gift when he stepped down as CEO. Today, he funds initiatives fostering social cohesion in small towns across the UK and early childhood and youth unemployment charities in South Africa. According to Jewish News, approximately 70% of the funds from his charitable foundation support the latter. Beyond the This Day Foundation, Lubner's other philanthropic organisations include The Belron Ronnie Lubner Charitable Foundation and Football Academy Noah. Meanwhile, his educational initiatives include The Gary Lubner Scholarship, Afrika Tikkun, and One to One Children's Fund. Lubner is now also Labour's biggest donor. He continues to finance the party with a wider view to support society. In Lubner's own words, giving back isn't about recognition or legacy. It's about allocating resources where they can make a real difference and addressing inequities that leave others behind.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
D'Ieteren Group (SIETY) (Q4 2024) Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Profit Growth and Strategic ...
Adjusted Profit Before Tax (PBT) Group Share: Increased by 9.6% or 12.7% at constant currency, reaching EUR1,065 million. Free Cash Flow Group Share: Increased by 22.2%, surpassing EUR740 million. Belron Operating Margin: Increased by 70 basis points, reaching 21.2%. D'Ieteren Automotive Adjusted PBT Group Share: Increased by 13.4%, with a return on sales margin of 5.1%. PHE Adjusted PBT Group Share: Grew by 8.1%, exceeding EUR165 million. TVH Adjusted PBT Group Share: Increased by 30.5%, nearing EUR100 million. Moleskine Adjusted PBT Group Share: Negative EUR3 million. Revenue Growth: Group sales increased by 3.5%, exceeding EUR12 billion. Belron Sales Growth: 6.8% increase, with 5.8% organic growth. D'Ieteren Automotive Market Share: Declined slightly to 24% in the Belgian market. Free Cash Flow - D'Ieteren Auto: Record EUR362 million, a 160% increase year-on-year. TVH Operating Margin: Increased by 206 basis points, reaching 15.6%. Net Debt - D'Ieteren Auto: Reduced to EUR12 million from EUR250 million at the end of 2023. Dividend Proposal: EUR1.6 ordinary dividend proposed. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 3 Warning Signs with SIETY. Release Date: March 10, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. D'Ieteren Group (SIETY) reported a strong increase in adjusted profit before tax group share, up 9.6% or 12.7% at constant currency. Free cash flow group share increased by 22.2%, reaching over EUR740 million. D'Ieteren Automotive achieved a record return on sales margin of 5.1%, despite a 6% decline in the Belgian new car market. TVH experienced a significant rebound with a 30.5% increase in PBT, aided by cost containment and recovery from a previous cyber-attack. The company proposed a dividend of EUR1.6, reflecting confidence in its financial stability and future prospects. Moleskine reported a negative adjusted PBT group share of minus EUR3 million due to a cautious discretionary spending environment. Belron faced increased financial charges, impacting its PBT group share, with a EUR60 million rise in net finance costs. D'Ieteren Auto's market share slightly declined to 24% in the Belgian market. The company anticipates a lower headline number for adjusted PBT group share in 2025 due to full-year effects of new financial charges. TVH expects a slightly declining adjusted operating result margin in 2025 due to a dilutive sales mix and absence of cyber-related insurance income. Q: Can you clarify the guidance for 2025, particularly regarding the comparable financing perimeter and financial charges? A: Edouard Janssen, CFO: In 2024, our PBT group share was EUR1.1 billion, excluding the EUR24.8 million net impact from additional financing. For 2025, we expect a slight increase, considering EUR140 million in financial charges at Belron and EUR40 million at the corporate level. Q: Regarding Belron's 23% EBIT margin target, can you provide more details on how you plan to achieve this? A: Francis Deprez, CEO: The target remains unchanged. We expect contributions from topline growth, transformation program benefits, recalibration, value-added products, and cost containment. These factors, along with modest volume increases and normal pricing effects, will help us reach the target. Q: What is the outlook for TVH's growth in a soft market environment? A: Francis Deprez, CEO: We anticipate mid single-digit topline growth, reflecting market share gains despite a mixed market environment. Some markets will show stronger growth, while others may have lower growth. Q: Can you explain the mid single-digit organic sales growth outlook for Belron, considering recent challenges? A: Francis Deprez, CEO: We expect normal developments at Belron, with some effects from last year continuing. The budget assumes a gradual normalization of insurance dynamics, but visibility on timing is limited. We are pursuing growth in all market segments, including cash markets. Q: How does the current tariff situation affect D'Ieteren Group's operations? A: Francis Deprez, CEO: Most of our activities are not significantly affected by tariffs. For TVH and Belron, we have flexible sourcing strategies to mitigate impacts. If tariffs lead to inflation, we will apply pricing strategies similar to previous inflationary periods. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
