Under the shrewd chairmanship of Jannie Mouton, PSG has proved skilled at grabbing opportunities while others are still thinking about them. A case in point is the bet on the lower-income market, through PSG's 34,9% holding in Capitec Bank. In 2007, for instance, the bank increased headline earnings per share by 15% and delivered a return on equity of 21%. It has also come out well from what has become known as the subprime crisis. It has finalised the paperwork and is poised for an October listing in London. But the company has considered the Northern Rock story and the scrutiny of Investec's subprime-sensitive holdings and decided that at some point it has to put on the brakes.