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The South African Chamber of Commerce’s Business Woman of the Year Award was presented to Penny Streeter OBE, owner of Benguela Cove (Hermanus) and Nom Nom Eateries  (Somerset West) on the 15th May 2019 at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel, London.

The Awards are a celebration of the achievements of the South African community in the UK. Award categories focus on specific areas of business and community activity.

Zimbabwe-born Penny Streeter OBE is one of the most successful women entrepreneurs in South Africa and the UK. At one time living in a homeless refuge with three children, Penny has since built a business empire from startup out of sheer hard work and tenacity.

Her medical recruitment agency A24 Group, which she founded in 1996, achieved rapid growth through an outstanding business model that she created. The firm provides more than 100,000 hours' work each week for healthcare professionals in the UK and South Africa.

Since 2016 Penny has also built a major wine, hospitality and leisure business across both countries, Benguela Collection. It started with the acquisition and substantial investment in the Benguela Cove vineyard in South Africa's Walker Bay wine region, with a 450-ton winery and 173 acres of vines.

In 2016 Penny identified new opportunities internationally for a South African-style wine farm experience and created the first ‘golf and wine estate’ in the UK. Some 38,000 vines were planted at the 500 acre parkland site at Mannings Heath Golf and Wine Estate, at Horsham in West Sussex.

In 2017 Penny acquired a neighbouring property in the UK, Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens. She has restored the 240 acre site, which is fast becoming a major tourist destination since its April 2019 opening. It features probably the finest woodland gardens in England, Grade I Listed and first planted in 1801, and also a newly planted Pinotage vineyard.

Wine production is a key focus. The 66,000 vines planted across both UK estates are estimated to crop at some 75 tons, to produce 50,000 bottles of sparkling wine each year.

For further information: www.benguelacollection.com