The woman who left South Africa, was homeless for 2 years in the UK, and went on to become a billionaire earning R2.1 million a week

·12 Aug 2026

Penny Streeter is a South African-based entrepreneur who has built a business empire spanning healthcare recruitment, property, wine and hospitality, with her wealth last estimated at £208 million (R4.5 billion).

Born Penelope Marion Stiff on 1 August 1967 in Zimbabwe, Streeter was the daughter of South African author Peter Stiff and Marion Hewson.

In 1979, political tensions in South Africa prompted her family to move to England. She had briefly attended Alberton High School in Johannesburg before leaving South Africa.

Streeter left school at 15 without qualifications and initially trained as a beauty therapist, but soon realised it was not the career for her.

She found work at a recruitment agency after walking into an office in Wallington, South London. The company was short-staffed and put her behind a desk, where she discovered an industry that suited her.

Her mother, Marion, later joined her in recruitment. The pair performed so well that the owner eventually told them they were earning too much commission and dismissed them.

In 1989, they decided to start their own recruitment company with a former colleague, Sue. The business initially did well, but the early-1990s recession rocked their business.

“It was very poor timing for us. We had sort of hopped ourselves up to the hilt, gone out, got bank loans for as much as we could, and hey presto, the business went bust,” she said in an interview with The Money Show.

It collapsed owing the bank £20,000 (over R400,000), and debt collectors began visiting her mother, Marion. At the same time, Streeter’s personal life was under severe strain.

She had married her first husband in 1986 and had her first child, Adam, later that year.

Her daughter Giselle followed, and she was pregnant with her third child, Bonnie, when the marriage broke down in January 1994.

The turning point

After spending two weeks at her mother’s home, Streeter and her children moved into emergency accommodation in Croydon because there was not enough space for them all.

“I ended up living in homeless accommodation. So you couldn’t have sort of hit more rock bottom,” she said.

With three children to support, Streeter said fear of failing them became her biggest motivation.

They remained there for about two years. She had little money, relied on benefits and her mother’s limited assistance, and bought clothes for the children at car-boot sales.

However, in June 1995, a friend offered Streeter the use of a corner of her husband’s office. She and Marion returned to recruitment, sharing childcare duties while working.

“I suppose for me, it’s all about tenacity. I’ve always put my luck, my success, to growing up in Southern Africa,” she said.

They had no investors or significant capital and even organised children’s discos on weekends to raise money for advertising.

Their new company gained traction rapidly. They initially worked in financial recruitment before identifying an opportunity in healthcare, where hospitals needed around-the-clock staffing.

They rebranded as Ambition 24hours, later becoming the A24 Group, and focused on providing healthcare professionals at any time of day.

“Our competitors opened their doors at 9, and they closed them at 5 o’clock, and that was it,” she said. “But the hospitals and nursing home sector actually operate around the clock.”

By June 1996, the company had achieved £1 million (R21.8 million) in turnover. Streeter bought her first three-bedroom home in Surrey in 1999, and described it as a major personal milestone.

Streeter said the business grew by about 238% annually at one point and was recognised by the Sunday Times Fast Track rankings.

Within several years, revenue had grown from nothing to between £50 million and £60 million.

Wine estate empire

The group later expanded internationally, including into South Africa in 2004.

In 2009, it secured a contract with the Western Cape Department of Health and became the first nursing agency on the continent to provide a 24-hour service.

Streeter remains the owner of A24, although she no longer manages its UK operations herself.

The group also operates healthcare staffing businesses in South Africa, where she said it was “completely opposed” to recruiting medical staff away from the country because of existing shortages.

Her business interests later expanded into wine, property and hospitality.

In 2010, she bought a home at Benguela Cove near Hermanus after visiting the estate with her husband, Nick, who wanted somewhere to launch his boat.

“As soon as I saw the estate, I immediately fell in love with it,” she said. In December 2013, she acquired the entire 200-hectare estate, including its vineyards and residential development.

Streeter admitted that she did not initially understand the scale of what she had taken on. “I didn’t have really a clue about the extent of vineyards or the extent of the development,” she said.

She subsequently expanded her wine and hospitality interests into the UK, acquiring a golf course in West Sussex in 2017 and Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens two years later.

She planted vineyards and developed wine and hospitality operations at the properties.

At Leonardslee, she also brought South African chef Jean Delport to the UK. The restaurant subsequently received a Michelin star. Streeter now describes Benguela Cove as home. “I live here full time,” she said.

Her son Adam is now chief executive of the A24 Group, continuing the business she built with her mother.

Company filings and press reports have put Streeter’s annual executive remuneration at about £5.1 million (R111 million), equivalent to roughly £98,000 a week, working out to more than R2.1 million.

Today, Streeter supports several local community initiatives in South Africa, including serving as a patron for the Hermanus Night Shelter Association.

*The pound to rand conversions were calculated as of 12 August 2026, at £1/R21.82.