Africa: Family Feud Yields Sour Grapes At French Drinks Empire Castel

What the report says

A Singapore court is set to rule on who controls Castel Group, the French drinks company with major operations in Africa, in a succession dispute that has opened a public split inside the founder’s family. According to RFI, the case centers on the company’s core holding and asset management vehicle, IBBM, and on whether chief executive Gregory Clerc will remain in charge or be permanently removed.

The dispute pits Pierre Castel’s daughter, Romy Castel, and his nephew, Alain Castel, against Clerc, who became CEO in 2023 and is the first outsider to lead the business. The cousins argue that Clerc has tried to take control of the multibillion-euro wine, beer and soft drinks group, while Clerc says he is carrying out the founder’s approach of separating ownership from management. Pierre Castel, now 99 and living in Portugal, had passed day-to-day leadership to Clerc rather than to family members when he stepped back in 2023.

Castel Group began in France in 1949 and later expanded heavily across Africa, where it now generates most of its sales and operates in 22 countries. The company’s brands include well-known beer labels such as 33 Export, Flag and Castel Beer, and it has also built interests in sugar, flour and distilling.

The broader family has not stood uniformly behind the challenge. RFI reported that other family branches backed Clerc’s management team, while Romy Castel has also pursued legal complaints in several European countries and Clerc has brought a separate case against her. The Singapore ruling will be an important test of governance and succession at one of the continent’s largest drinks groups.