Discovery Limited

Not to be confused with Discovery, Inc..

Discovery Limited

Discovery Limited's headquarters in Sandton
Company type	Public
Traded as	JSE: DSY
Industry	Financial services Insurance Healthcare
Founded	1992;34 years ago (1992)
Founder	Adrian Gore
Headquarters	Sandton, Gauteng, South Africa
Area served	42 markets, [1] including: Australia China Singapore South Africa United Kingdom United States
Key people	Adrian Gore (CEO) ME Tucker (Chairman) DM Viljoen (CFO) [2]
Products	Insurance Asset management Banking
Revenue	R37.03 billion (2025) [2]
Operating income	R14.58 (2025) [2]
Net income	R9.55 billion (2025) [2]
Total assets	R327.45 billion (2025) [2]
Total equity	R65.69 billion (2025) [2]
Number of employees	15,000+ (2025) [1]
Website	Home

Africa Padel courts in Claremont, Cape Town. Signage for Discovery is shown as it is an official partner company

Discovery Limited (commonly referred to as Discovery) is a major South African financial services and private healthcare group. Founded in 1992, the company is headquartered in Sandton, and listed on the JSE. ^{[4] [5]} Discovery has operations in 42 markets around the world, and is a Level 1 BBBEE contributor. ^[1]

As of 2023, Discovery operates the largest private health insurance company in South Africa by total members, with 1.36 million main members and a further 2.78 million dependents (around 4.14 million total customers). ^[6] The group also operates Discovery Bank, a major South African digital bank that was launched in 2019.

Overview

Discovery Limited engages in long and short-term insurance, asset management, savings, investment, and employee benefits through its various brands. The Group has subsidiaries in South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, China, Singapore, and Australia. ^[7]

History

Discovery Limited was founded in 1992 by Adrian Gore and Barry Swartzberg. In the same year, RMB Holdings (RMBH) acquired a stake in the business by making Discovery Limited its subsidiary through Momentum Group (now part of MMI Holdings Limited). ^[8]

In 1998, the Momentum Group became part of First Rand after the merger of the financial services interests of Anglo American Corporation of South Africa Limited (now Anglo American plc) and RMBH to achieve the objective of a unified financial services grouping. ^[9] With First Rand Group owning 75 percent of Discovery Limited. ^[10]

Discovery Limited was successfully listed on the JSE in October 1999 through a successful initial public offering. During the year, First Rand Group reduced its stake in Discovery Limited to 64 percent. ^[11] In 2003, Momentum Group Limited transferred its investment in Discovery Limited to FirstRand Limited for R740 million.

In November 2007, FirstRand unbundled all of its entire shareholding in Discovery Limited and allotted the shares of Discovery Limited to its shareholders. This led to RMBH receiving a 25 percent direct stake in Discovery Limited, making it the single largest shareholder. ^{[12] [13]}

On 7 March 2011, RMBH, Remgro, and FirstRand spun off their insurance assets to Rand Merchant Insurance Holdings and separately listed it on the JSE. ^[14] This restructure led to the transfer of RMBH's entire stake in Discovery Limited to RMI Holdings.

In September 2015, Discovery Limited announced its intention to set up a retail banking subsidiary with an initial $150 million investment. ^[15]

In March 2019, Discovery Limited launched Discovery Bank, the world's first behavioural bank. Despite not being a private bank, its target market is higher income earning South Africans. ^[16]

Member companies

Discovery store in Stellenbosch

The companies that comprise Discovery Limited include, but are not limited to, the following: ^[17]

• Discovery Life – Sandton, South Africa – 100% shareholding – Offering life and long term insurance products in South Africa.
• Discovery Health – Sandton, South Africa – 100% shareholding – Offering administration services to medical schemes and specialised medical insurance products in South Africa ^[18]
• Discovery Vitality – Sandton, South Africa – 100% shareholding
• Discovery Life Collective Investments – Sandton, South Africa – 100% shareholding – Offering unit trusts
• Discovery Life Investment Services – Sandton, South Africa – 100% shareholding – Offering unit trusts.
• Discovery Insure – Sandton, South Africa – 100% shareholding – Offering motor vehicle, household and other short-term risk insurance in South Africa.
• VitalityHealth – London, United Kingdom – 100% shareholding – Offering personal medical insurance products in the United Kingdom. 25% of the venture was previously held by Prudential Plc.
• VitalityLife – London, United Kingdom – 100% shareholding – Offering personal life and long term insurance products in the United Kingdom. 25% of the venture was previously held by Prudential Plc.
• Vitality Corporate Services – London, United Kingdom – 100% shareholding – Offering insurance products to both individuals and groups
• The Vitality Group – Chicago, Illinois, US – 75% shareholding – Offering insurance products to both individuals and groups
• AIA Vitality – Singapore – 50% shareholding – Offering insurance products to both individuals and groups. A joint venture with the AIA Group Limited.
• HumanaVitality – Louisville, Kentucky, US – 25% shareholding – Offering insurance products to both individuals and groups. This is a subsidiary of New York Stock Exchange-listed Humana.
• Ping An Health – Shenzhen, China – 25% shareholding – Offering medical insurance products in China
• Discovery Bank – Financial services via a digital-only bank

Ownership

The shares of Discovery Limited are listed on the JSE. As of June 2023, the shareholding was as follows: ^[19]

Discovery Limited stock ownership

Rank	Name of owner	Percentage ownership
1	Government Employees Pension Fund	12.96
2	Remgro	7.61
4	Ballie Gifford & Co Limited	7.50
3	Adrian Gore	7.22
5	Other local and international investors	64.71
	Total	100.00

Corporate social responsibility

In 2025, the group stated in its Annual Report that it had set a Net Zero Transition Plan with a goal of net-zero GHG emissions by 2050. ^[1]

The group operates the Discovery Fund, through which it promotes healthcare service delivery in rural and underserved communities in South Africa, and invests in digital assets to extend access to healthcare and provide medical research and training grants. ^[1]

See also

• List of companies traded on the JSE
• List of companies of South Africa
• Economy of South Africa

References

1. "Discovery Integrated Annual Report 2025" (PDF). Discovery. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
2. "Discovery Annual Financial Statements 2025" (PDF). Discovery. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
3. "Africa Padel National Brand Partners". Africa Padel. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
4. "About us - Discovery Limited". Discovery Limited. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
5. "Discovery Ltd - Company Profile and News". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
6. "The biggest medical aids in South Africa: Discovery vs GEMS vs Bonitas and more". BusinessTech. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
7. "Discovery Limited - Circular to Shareholders" (PDF). Discovery Limited. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
8. "Exceptional, January–June 2011 - Medicine Man: Discovery". Ernst & Young Global Limited. Ernst & Young. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
9. "First Rand - Abridged Revised Listing Particulars". Imara Investing in Africa. First Rand Limited. 25 May 1998. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
10. "First Rand 1999 Annual Report" (PDF). First Rand. 31 December 1999. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
11. "First Rand 2000 Annual Report" (PDF). First Rand. 31 December 2000. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
12. "Discovery to be unbundled from Firstrand". www.fanews.co.za. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
13. "Rand Merchant Bank to top Discovery shareholder list". www.fanews.co.za. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
14. "RMIH - History". Rand Merchant Insurance Holdings. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
15. Motsoeneng, Tiisetso (10 September 2015). Clarke, David (ed.). "UPDATE 1-South African insurer Discovery to set up retail bank". Reuters . Thomson Reuters . Retrieved 26 November 2015.
16. Staff Writer. "Discovery Bank to launch in March 2019 – here's what you need to know" . Retrieved 23 April 2022.
17. "Discovery Limited 2014 Annual Financial Statements" (PDF). Discovery Limited. 30 June 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
18. "How medical schemes work". Discovery Health Medical Scheme. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
19. "Discovery Limited - Annual Financial Statements (2023)" (PDF). 30 June 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.