Fleurette Group Appoints Lord Mancroft as Head of Group's Advisory Board

LONDON, July 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Fleurette Group (Fleurette) is pleased to announce the appointment of Lord Mancroft as the head of the Group's Advisory Board.

Currently serving as Chairman of a number of UK based organisations that work with disadvantaged children and charities in the drug and alcohol addiction sector, Lord Mancroft is also Chairman of Phoenix Gaming, a charity lotteries operator and the President of the UK's National Lotteries Council.

In his new role, Lord Mancroft will provide both strategic counsel to Fleurette as it continues to expand in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in both the natural resources and agriculture sectors, as well as advise its registered charity, the Gertler Family Foundation (GFF), on helping it address specific social needs of vulnerable Congolese.

Fleurette has grown to become one of the largest foreign investors in the DRC. Some of its key investments include:

• Joint ownership of the Mutanda and Kansuki mines, alongside Glencore Xstrata and investment in Katanga Mining Limited.  
• Fleurette is the owner and operator of Oil Blocks I&II, Lake Albert. Oil of DR Congo, a subsidiary of Fleurette is the project's operator entrusted with carrying out the obligations under its product sharing contract with the Government. It is the only operator in the region currently conducting 2D seismic survey (offshore and onshore) in this area. Overall it has performed well above its contractual obligations.
• Fleurette is also the majority owner of Moku Goldmines, a gold exploration project in Oriental Province.

Companies owned by Fleurette and its partners currently employ around 20,000 local workers and are the largest sources of tax revenue for the DRC Government. Furthermore, Fleurette's long-term presence in the DRC has helped bring significant additional investment into the country.

In addition to its extensive business interests, Fleurette is an important donor to vital community projects in the DRC. Mr. Dan Gertler is the co-founder of The Gertler Family Foundation (GFF), the DRC's leading foundation for nearly a decade that focuses on social development projects in the areas of health, agriculture, education, culture and emergency assistance throughout the country.

Since 2004, the GFF has contributed US$150 million to vital projects which include: building, upgrading and managing hospitals, notably the Kisangani "Hospital du Cinquantenaire"; supporting Operation Smile missions to provide free cleft lip and palate surgeries to children and adults in Lubumbashi and Kinshasa. Rebuilding Lycee Francaise Pascal in Lubumbashi; and fully renovating Hospice St. Pierre in Kinshasa.

Lord Mancroft will work to align Fleurette's CSR projects with its corporate strategy and stakeholder expectations.

Lord Mancroft marked his appointment as the head of the Fleurette Advisory Board with his first visit to the DRC, touring GFF projects and Fleurette investments in N'Sele, Nganda Yala, Kolwezi and Lubumbashi. These sites included the Kitoko Food Farm, a Fleurette- GFF multi-million dollar sustainable agriculture project and the St. Raymond Health Center, a remote health clinic addressing malnutrition, both located in N'Sele.

Commenting on his appointment, Lord Mancroft said:

"I am delighted to be working with the Fleurette Group. Fleurette is an ambitious, fast growing organisation that is building a resources portfolio of genuine scale, providing the DRC with the investment and expertise it needs to capitalise on its significant minerals wealth. I have also been very impressed with the work of the Gertler Family Foundation which is at the forefront of helping address the needs of vulnerable people throughout the DRC. I have seen for myself that the Foundation is making a transformational impact on those most in need. I hope that my experience of working with charitable organisations can help underpin Dan Gertler's long standing commitment and belief in the DRC and I look forward to working closely with him, the company and other agencies to continue to improve the welfare of the Congolese people."

About Fleurette Group

Fleurette Properties Limited is a holding company for a number of natural resource assets in Africa created in 2006. Fleurette Properties and its wholly-owned subsidiaries (the Fleurette Group), are owned by a discretionary trust held for the benefit of family members of Dan Gertler.

The Group has the largest private national resource asset portfolio in DRC and is the largest single private investor.

Fleurette's activities cover exploration, project finance, logistics, mining, refining and distribution and its assets include among others cobalt, copper, gold and agriculture.

The Group has a proven track record of partnership with major international companies to bring investment and expertise to the DRC mining sector.

To date, Fleurette's activities have brought more than $5 billion of investment into the DRC, on top of its 1.5 billion USD in private investments.

Projects are either wholly-owned by subsidiary companies, or are held in joint ventures with other companies, including Glencore Xstrata.

Fleurette has been a major contributor to social development in the DRC by funding numerous social initiatives and through investment in social infrastructure.

About The Gertler Family Foundation

An initiative of the Gertler Family Trust, the Gertler Family Foundation (GFF) is committed to helping meet the needs of vulnerable groups of the Congolese population. Since its inception in 2004, the GFF has invested millions of dollars in health, education, emergency relief, infrastructure, culture and other projects in Kinshasa, Katanga Province, Province-Orientale, Maniema and elsewhere in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Through hospitals, health clinics, schools and the homes built by the GFF, along with the medicine, food, clothing, clean water and other assistance it has provided, the Foundation has helped change the lives of countless Congolese since its inception.

The GFF's primary goal is to support vulnerable people living in major cities and remote villages with limited access to basic health care services, children and adults born with facial deformities, inter-city children born HIV positive, youth and adults living with HIV-AIDS, orphans, the disabled, families stricken by natural disasters, and many others.  

The GFF is one of the most active Foundations in the DRC and had been recognised several times by the media as the most dynamic Foundation in country. In 2012 the GFF was presented with the Geopolis Forum Award. The Foundation also participated in the first roundtable on Corporate Social Responsibility in DRC in June 2012. This year (2013) the GFF will also participate in the International Conference of Radiography for Francophone countries, of which it is also a proud sponsor.

For further information about the Gertler Family Foundation, visit http://www.gertlerfamilyfoundation.org/en/or contact info@gertlerfamilyfoundation.org.

Join us on Facebook: Gertler Family Foundation, and on Twitter @gffdrc.

About Lord Mancroft

Benjamin Lloyd Stormont Mancroft, 3rd Baron Mancroft is a British peer, businessman and Conservative Party politician. He is the son of the 2nd Baron Mancroft and Diana Lloyd. In 1987, he succeeded to his father's titles and became one of the ninety hereditary peers elected to remain in the House of Lords after the House of Lords Act 1999.

Since 1989 Lord Mancroft has been chairman of Addiction Recovery Foundation, served as a director of Phoenix House Housing Association from 1991 and was deputy chair of the British Field Sports Society from 1992 and 1997. From 1996 to 2000 he was President of the Alliance of Independent Retailers and has served as chairman of the Drug and Alcohol Foundation since 1994. Since 1997 he has been director of Countryside Alliance and since 2005 its vice-chairman.

Lord Mancroft is Chairman of Inter Lotto and Phoenix Gaming and a non-executive director of St Martin's Magazines plc and of Rok Corporation. He is also Chairman of New Media Lottery Services.

Lord Mancroft is married to Emma Peart, they have two sons, including his heir Arthur Louis Stormont Mancroft, and one daughter.

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