Wiese is also the biggest shareholder in Brait, the South African investment vehicle that owns a stake in Iceland Foods, Virgin Active and New Look. Shares in Brait have halved in the last year on the back of New Look's troubled trading and been knocked by Steinhoff's recent troubles. The firm insists that it has not been caught up in Steinhoff's accounting scandal and has had no indication that Wiese wants to sell down his stake, despite him selling shares in other holdings. Wiese was already a major shareholder in Steinhoff when it bought Conforama in France in 2011 for £1bn, the start of its acquisition spree financed by cheap debt. By the time Steinhoff splurged £4bn on the takeover of Pepkor three years later it was already one of Africa's biggest retailers. The deal doubled Steinhoff's size overnight and handed Wiese a 17pc slice of the company, and a board seat.