Curro names a new CEO as Greyling steps down

Curro, a JSE-listed private school group, has appointed Cobus Loubser as its new CEO.

Andries Greyling, the current CEO, will step down from the board on January 1, 2023 “to pursue other interests.” He has been CEO since 2017 and has been with Curro for 15 years.

Loubser joined Curro in January of last year. He was previously CEO of Long4Life’s Sport and Recreation division, which included Sportsmans Warehouse, and previously served as Holdsport’s chief financial officer for 11 years.

He began his career as a chartered accountant at KMPG and previously worked as the financial manager of Virgin Active SA.

Mari Lategan, Curro’s executive for corporate services and group company secretary, has been named the company’s new deputy CEO. Curro has been her employer for six years. She previously worked as a general manager at Media24 and founded a strategic business and communications consulting firm.

Curro’s stock recently fell to its lowest level in a year. The company’s revenue increased by nearly 16% to more than R2 billion in the six months ending in June, while profit increased significantly. However, bad debt of R74 million (approximately 4% of turnover) remains higher than before the pandemic.

Small Talk Daily Research analyst Anthony Clark described the management change as “sudden,” and Greyling’s departure as “quite a saddening affair.”

He claimed Greyling inherited many problems caused by the previous management’s and founder-shareholder PSG’s “overly ambitious” growth strategy.

This resulted in significant growth in new schools and a rapid increase in debt, necessitating a rights issue.

Clark stated that Greyling “right-sized and streamlined” the strategy that was imposed on him, reducing costs while increasing margins and school utilisation. He praised Greyling’s performance and expressed regret that he would not see the expected earnings growth recovery as CEO in the next two years.

However, he added that Loubser has a strong understanding of the company’s underlying financials, as well as a stronger presentation style than Greyling and the “cut and thrust” that institutional investors prefer.