Sun International South Africa

Sun International is a resort hotel chain from South Africa created by Sol Kerzner, probably best known for its Sun City Resort near Johannesburg and Pretoria.

Sun International traces its roots back to 1969, when the Southern Sun Hotel Company was created when South African Breweries and Sol Kerzner joined forces.

In 1983, South African Breweries splits its hotel interests into two. Sun International, headed by Sol Kerzner, retained all of the casino hotels located in the areas that South Africa had designated as "independent homelands" and had Southern Sun as a 20% stakeholder. Southern Sun retained the company's other hotels in South Africa.

After the end of Apartheid in South Africa in the early 1990s, the so-called homelands were re-integrated into the new South Africa. Southern Sun developed its own gaming resorts and began to compete increasingly with Sun International. In 2000, Southern Sun sold its stake in Sun International to Kersaf.

Sun International’s operations include resorts, luxury hotel products, and casinos in 14 jurisdictions in South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland.As at June 2007 revenue stood at R6 937 million, up by 17% from 2006, and profit before taxation at R1 691 million.

The Group has licenses in eight of South Africa’s nine provinces, notably in the country’s major urban markets of the East Rand, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban, Bloemfontein, Polokwane and Kimberley.

It has grown its leading position in the market place, today accounting for 44% of national casino gaming revenues and everyday, over 50 000 customers from over 50 countries visit a Sun International property.

Over a period of three decades, the group has invested more than R10-billion in new tourism infrastructure. It employs over 8 300 people in southern Africa, has indirectly created 50 000 new employment opportunities in the broader tourism industry, and it has been estimated that its business has a direct impact on the livelihood of more than 500 000 people in the sub-continent. Today, the group is distributing close to a third of the new wealth it generates to government, and another third as salaries to employees. Compared against other listed companies in South Africa, Sun International is one of the largest contributors, on a percentage basis, to the common good, and since 1995/6, has paid over R4.5-billion to the public exchequer in taxation