Acclaimed businessman Eric Ellerine passed away at the age of 90 in Houghton on Monday. We haven’t often written tributes in the 12 years of this Anchor morning newsletter, but Eric has impacted our business and me in many ways over the years.
Only a few months ago, I was sitting in the Ellerine office, reporting on his family share portfolio. At his age, he still arrived at work at 8am in a suit and tie and did reconciliations from the day before. “So what shares are hot?” he would ask with his deep passion for markets. Despite being one of SA’s most successful businesspeople, he still got immense pleasure from a good day on the market.
My relationship with Eric goes back more than 20 years, when I managed a portfolio for him in my days at Investec. Every month, we would discuss every share in his portfolio, and he would be fascinated with updates and the prospects for each of the companies in which he had a stake. On down days, he would phone for reassurance that we owned the right shares and when shares performed well, he would call to express delight.
Eric founded Ellerines, a furniture retail company,at the age of 16 in 1950 £106 of savings. He listed the company in 1969, and it is a phenomenal success story. He went on to build a considerable SA property portfolio and was famous for backing many local entrepreneurs. It was only after he retired from managing the company in 2000 that I formed a relationship with Eric.
Eric was an example for anybody in the business world, and I learnt a great deal from him. I have never met anybody as dedicated and hard-working. Legend has it that he was always first to work and last to leave and regularly visited his stores, walking the floors with a fanatical attention to detail. In recent years, in his relatively modest office in Houghton, employees still had to wear ties and fill in the work register daily.
If you worked for Eric, you put in a full day’s work and the modern post-Covid era of work-from-home and “sometimes from work” was completely foreign to him.
Eric was a true gentleman and had the manners from a bygone era. I was always met with a firm handshake and appreciation for the visit. I loved sharing my views on the market, and he was a great listener and recalled everything I said about the shares and the market — I was often held to account in subsequent appointments. When the portfolio I managed declined sharply in value in the 2008 stock market crash, he was gracious and polite, but I was held to account in a suitably firm manner. Eric did not give you an easy ride but was always fair and reasonable.
Not long after I left Investec to start Anchor, Eric phoned to express his desire to continue our business relationship. In a strange twist of fate a few years later, his family company bought into Capricorn Capital Partners, which owned 30% of Anchor. Hence, he became an indirect shareholder in Anchor. He took great pride in observing our growth and always had encouraging words. I sensed that his entrepreneurial spirit resulted in him getting joy from seeing businesses grow. He was a fatherly figure, and it felt a bit like giving my dad my school marks when I reported to him on our business progress. He was proud, and that motivated me.
A few years back, I was his host at a Springbok rugby game, and on an uncomfortably long walk to Ellis Park stadium (for his now ageing legs), he said he would teach me a lesson in negotiation. He wanted to buy me a Springbok cap and spent 10 minutes negotiating with numerous street vendors. Eventually, he concluded a masterful “three for the price of two” deal and gave me and my son a cap, and at that moment, I gained some insight into why he was successful in business. He had worked for every cent of the value he created, he never wasted a cent, and trading was in his blood. However, once he had made the money, he was extremely generous. We shared many high fives and embraces during the rugby game as the Springboks romped to victory.
My relationship with Eric was a professional one, but he clearly was a great family man. For me, he set the example of hard work, professionalism and passion. I valued his encouragement, support and pride as we flourished as a business.
On December 4, an era in SA business ended. The principles of a past era still held true in an office in Houghton until a few months ago when the years eventually caught up.
I will miss Eric and never forget what he taught me.
Peter Armitage is CEO of Anchor Capital
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