South African investment groups appear to be losing their taste for popular US fast-food brands. Following Taste Holding's decision sell its Starbucks and Domino's Pizza franchises, as well as its local brands, Grand Parade Investments says it's in talks to sell a material interest in the SA Burger King franchise. That follows the liquidation of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins a year ago.

It's very expensive to roll out the number of restaurants required to make these brands profitable in a competitive space. What's surprising - to me at least - is that Grand Parade appeared to have achieved the required scale from Burger King. However, small caps analyst Anthony Clark, the man behind @smalltalkdaily Research, doesn't appear surprised at all. He believes more investment is needed to make the brand truly profitable in SA - and shareholders may just not have the appetite.

The weak economy isn't helping Grand Parade's cause - and it's not alone. Bell Equipment has warned of lower earnings due to declining local demand and Accelerate Property Fund has sacrificed earnings in order to accommodate struggling retailers.

More on those stories in today's newsletter, along with an update from insurance group Sanlam and results from Sygnia, which has continued to grow funds under management in a shrinking investment market. It's also benefited from the acquisition of Deutsche Bank's local exchange-traded fund business two years ago. The rebranded Sygnia Itrix ETFs track foreign indices and are popular with investors looking for offshore exposure.

For many relatively wealthy South Africans the question has become not whether to invest offshore, but how.

One of the asset classes many are looking at now is an investment in offshore real estate, which in some cases is made all the more attractive by the bonus of a 'Plan B' residency programme. Portugal's Golden Visa programme springs to mind here, in a country that has the additional advantages of a great climate, a well-run, business-friendly government, and one of Europe's top-performing property markets. Click here to find out more.

I hope you have a good day.

Stephen Gunnion

Managing Editor, InceConnect

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