Resources-to-hotels investor Lonrho Africa is changing its name back to Lonrho, the colourful conglomerate from which it emerged.

Lonrho Africa came into existence to hold the remaining non-platinum mining interests held by the former Lonrho group, vehicle for the legendary ‘Tiny’ Rowland, who had built the company up into a sprawling conglomerate with interests and influence throughout Africa and beyond. Known in the later years before his death for his epic struggle with Mohammed Fyed to control Harrods department store, Rowland had amassed a string of disparate operations, from mines to car dealerships, over which he presided in a fashion that would have given US corporate governance legislators Sarbanes and Oxley heart attacks.

David Lenigas, Lonrho Africa’s entrepreneurial Australian chief executive, has been selling off some of these assets to reduce the company’s debt, but still professes a Rolandesque desire to back a range of ‘early- to mid-stage developing projects in Africa’. He now says he will ask shareholders to approve the name change, thus ‘reinvigorating the company’ and ‘aspiring for a return to the Lonrho of old’.

This strategy has taken Lonrho Africa into backing uranium counter Brinkley Mining, Nare Diamonds, Fly540 and Norse Air. The company is expected to unveil some new deals shortly.

As yet, the stockmarket is sceptical. Lonrho Africa shares, which rallied from a lowly 9p in 2004 to 37.75p last May, are 0.75p off today at 25.25p, valuing the company at £45 million.