
Villiera sold
Stellenbosch property Villiera has been sold to Iwayini, the South African sudsidiary of GCF (Grands Chais de France), a company owned and run by the Helfrich family.
Cousins Jeff and Simon Grier started Villiera as a family-owned business in 1983 with Cathy Brewer (née Grier) later joining the team to head up the sales, marketing and export divisions. With all of Villiera’s current directors now heading into their mid-sixities, succession planning has been underway for the last three years – the Grier family will remain involved in the running of the Villiera business for the meantime to ensure continuity (Xander Grier, nephew of Simon, remains as a winemaker).
Iwayini purchased Neethlingshof last year and subsequently went in search of a Cap Classique producer which led to the deal with Villiera. The property remains the home of the Pebbles Project, providing children from farming communities with access to quality education programmes and health, nutrition and social work services as well as the Villiera Wildlife Sanctuary.