Mansour Group

ABOUT THE FOUNDER

Loutfy Mansour was born in 1909 in Egypt. He studied in the United Kingdom at St. John’s College, Cambridge, graduating with a BA in 1933. Returning to Egypt, he married Nazly Aakif Fouaad, whom he met in Al-sharqiyyah.^[5] The couple had their eldest son, Youssef, in 1940, and their second son, Ismail, was born four years later. In total, the couple had five children.^[6]

FOUNDING STORY

Loutfy held various positions in the Egyptian government, including undersecretary for the Ministry of Agriculture, where he specialized in the export of Egyptian cotton.^[7] In 1950, under the new prime minister, Mostafa El-Nahas, Loutfy was demoted to a lower-ranking position – leading him to resign from government service.

Two years later, in 1952, Loutfy decided to start his own company, Mansour and Sons Cotton Trading Company, relying on his knowledge of the cotton industry and network of contacts in the field.^[8] The company quickly gained international success as demand from markets such as the US, Soviet Union, China, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Western Europe established Egyptian cotton as a luxury good.^[9]

GROWTH PHASE

In 1964, following the nationalization of the Egyptian cotton industry by Gamal Abd El Nasser’s regime, the Mansour family business and assets were confiscated,^[10] and Loutfy was placed under house arrest. Having lost his wealth and source of income, Mansour struggled to sustain a living.^[11]

In 1967, the Sudanese government, looking to develop its cotton industry, hired Loutfy as an economic counselor. Loutfy accepted the offer and requested the Sudanese prime minister’s help to end his house arrest. After a series of failed attempts, Khaled Mohieddin, an Egyptian politician, finally secured Loutfy’s release.^[12] In 1971, however, shortly after Loutfy took up the post in Sudan, that country’s cotton industry was nationalized as well.^[13] Not permitted to return to Egypt, Loutfy Mansour moved to Geneva, following advice from his son Mohammed, who joined the company in 1973.^[14] In Switzerland, Loutfy established a cotton brokerage office.^{[15] [16]} The enterprise swiftly proved profitable as cotton prices soared^{[17] [18]} following a huge drop in agricultural production.^[19]

In 1975, after the Sadat regime had restored Egypt to a market economy, Loutfy and his sons were able to return.^{[20] [21]} Having lost everything twice, the Mansours made the decision in 1975 to enter the car dealership business, beginning the family’s relationship with General Motors.^{[22] [23]}

Just as the company was about to receive its first shipment of cars the following year, Loutfy died after a brain hemorrhage at the age of 67, leaving the business to his children.^[24] His son Mohamed took over as chairman of Mansour Automotive, which would soon come under the aegis of the Mansour Group.^[25]

As Egypt-US relations strengthened, the Mansour Group in 1977 formed a partnership with Caterpillar and established Mantrac, which became the sole authorized dealer of Caterpillar products in Egypt. This was followed by the creation of the first GM-operated vehicle factory in the country, which produced the first locally assembled GM vehicle in 1985. In 1992, the Mansour Group became the sole distributor of Philip Morris products in Egypt and Al Mansour Holding Company for Financial Investments was established to distribute brands through the groups’ outlets.^[26] Two years later, Manfoods was established as the sole Egyptian franchisee for McDonald’s restaurants.^[27]

More distribution deals followed, including ones for IBM, Microsoft, HP, and Compaq IT products, the Selcam dairy in Alexandra, and the Hayat water bottling plant near the Siwa Oasis.^[28] The group also introduced its own brands to the Egyptian market in the mid- and late 1990s, establishing Sunshine Foods and founding the Metro supermarket chain. In 1996, the Mansours merged their business with their cousins’, the Maghrabys, creating the Mansour and Maghraby Investment and Development (MMID) Group.^[29] In 1997, the group acquired Unatrac, Unilever’s Caterpillar dealership in East and West Africa, which was subsequently merged with Mantrac to form the Mantrac Group.

In 2001, the Mansour Group diversified further, acquiring the Crédit Agricole Bank, founding the cybersecurity company GNS (later rebranded as InFort), and establishing the Mansour Foundation for Development. General Motors acquired a stake in Mansour Automotive the following year.^[30] In 2005, MMID founded Palm Hills Developments, and five years later, the Mansour Group established its global investment arm, Man Capital LLP.^[31]

Following the 2011 Egyptian uprising, the chairman of Mansour Automotive, Mohamed Mansour — who had served as transportation minister under Hosni Mubarak for over four years – retreated from public life as many of his family members, business associates, and friends were imprisoned on charges related to their associations with the deposed regime.^[32] Many members of the family moved to London, where they remain based,^[33] and General Motors closed its factory in Egypt.^[34]

TODAY

By 2016, Mansour Automotive had become the largest General Motors dealer in the world, selling 76,000 vehicles a year.^[35] The group has greatly expanded its international partnerships, investing in companies such as Uber, Spotify, Airbnb, Facebook, and Twitter^[36] and establishing subsidiary companies that span “from Colombia to Papua New Guinea.”^[37] In 2021, Mansour Automotive and General Motors agreed to research the potential for manufacturing electric vehicles in Egypt, in partnership with the Ministry of Transportation.^[38] With over 66,000 employees, the Mansour group is one of the largest business empires in the MENA region.