Sign in

Private company

Illovo Sugar

Logo: Illovo, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons3

South Africa sugar producer

Illovo SA, officially Illovo Sugar South Africa, is a South African sugar producer, founded in 1891. The company is headquartered in uMhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of UK-based ABF Sugar. Illovo derives its sugar cane from a total of 10 farms, eight of which are company-owned.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1891Founded1

See how the biggest companies compare on our leaderboards

Illovo SA, officially Illovo Sugar South Africa, is a South African sugar producer, founded in 1891. The company is headquartered in uMhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of UK-based ABF Sugar. Illovo derives its sugar cane from a total of 10 farms, eight of which are company-owned.2

The story

Until the 1960s, Illovo was a subsidiary of the General Mining Company of South Africa, which sold a 49% shareholding in the business to Tate & Lyle in 1969.

This was then sold in 1977 to C G Smith (Sugars) Ltd of Natal. Today it is a subsidiary of Associated British Foods Plc., which purchased 51% of the issued share capital for more than £400m in 2006.

In 2016, ABF bought the remaining 49% of the company's share capital.

From Wikipedia’s article on Illovo Sugar, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Products and brands

  • sugar

Listed on Wikidata.1

As of 2026, Illovo operates eight Mill Cum Planter (MCP) farms. These are Beaumont, Esperanza, Glenroy, Isonti, Paddock, Ravenhill, Seafield, and Sezela. In addition, the company leases an additional two farms.

From Wikipedia’s article on Illovo Sugar, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Timeline

  1. 1891Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4