It is engaged in multiple business sectors in Africa, mainly agribusiness, infrastructure, transport, hospitality and support services.

[2] One previous CEO of Lonrho plc was the controversial Tiny Rowland (1917–1998), a corporate raider who ran the firm from 1962 to 1993.

Scholars have noted that while he may have been the "unacceptable face of capitalism", in the words of Edward Heath, Lonrho plc worked in tandem with the British government in protecting British business interests in Africa after independence.

[10] This was after they exchanged their stake in Fly 540 for shares in Rubicon Diversified Investments plc, which was renamed Fastjet in August 2012.

[11] In 2013, Lonrho plc was delisted from the LSE, JSE and OTCQX after agreeing to a £174.5 million takeover by FS Africa,[12][13] a bid vehicle controlled by Swiss billionaire Thomas Schmidheiny and Rainer-Marc Frey.