Lonrho Plc Admitted to the Premium Listing of the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange and the Rt. Hon. Sir Richard Needham Joins the Board

LONDON, May 3, 2011 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Lonrho Plc has announced that the company has been admitted to the Premium List of the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange and has appointed the Rt. Hon. Sir Richard Needham to the Board of Directors.

The move to the Premium List of the Main Market is a natural progression as the Company continues to expand its operations across Africa and will enable the Company to access a wider range of investment institutions moving forward to support the continued development of the Company.

With operations in seventeen sub Saharan African countries, the Company is focused on developing the infrastructure and support requirements of the oil and gas, agriculture and mineral sectors that it sees as the economic drivers of the African economy.

The Rt. Hon Sir Richard Needham who joins the Board of Lonrho Plc as an independent non executive director had a distinguished career in parliament culminating in his time as Britain's longest serving Minister in Northern Ireland from 1985 - 1992 and as Minister of Trade from 1992 - 1995. Sir Richard left politics in 1997 and has since focused on the private sector, and has been a director of GEC Plc, Meggitt Plc, and currently is the Vice Chairman of NEC Europe Ltd. He has been on the Board of Dyson Ltd for over 15 years, and is currently the Senior Independent Director. He has been non-executive Chairman of Avon Rubber Plc since January 2007.

David Lenigas, Lonrho's Executive Chairman stated:

"We are delighted that Lonrho is now on the premium List of the Main Market, which is an important step in the growth of the Company. Investor interest in emerging Africa is growing as Africa is increasingly seen as a global participant in the oil, gas, mineral and agricultural sectors."

    http://www.lonrho.com

    Enquiries:
    Lonrho Plc
    Geoffrey White, Chief Executive +44(0)20-7016-5105
    Pelham Bell Pottinger
    James MacFarlane +44(0)20-7861-3232

SOURCE Lonrho Plc