Having arrived in Mauritius over ten years ago, François Colin joins the APTIS Group in 2019. Responsible for the strategic repositioning of Resiglas, he continues his success by becoming Group Marketing Manager. With the acquisition of BARNES Maurice in 2025, a new adventure awaits him: that of General Manager of the real estate company. He’s looking forward to this new challenge with great enthusiasm! Eugénie Sauzier-de Rosnay
How did the APTIS Group begin to diversify from its initial focus on distribution?
It’s a recent story, since the first company, TNS Tobacco, was launched in 2009. Very quickly, we decided to diversify in order to seize new growth opportunities. Today, we are active in five sectors: distribution, services, trade, investments and, more recently, real estate. This rapid growth reflects the APTIS Group’s ambitions in the local and regional area.
Does the acquisition of BARNES Maurice mark the Group’s first move into real estate?
The APTIS Group is not entirely new to this sector. In the past, we have been involved in residential development projects, notably through a RES program, and we also manage three commercial buildings in Riche-Terre via our APTIS Property division.
With the acquisition of BARNES Mauritius in 2025, we are taking a further step in clearly affirming our ambition in this sector, which remains one of the pillars of the Mauritian economy. It’s an exciting business, which fits in perfectly with the APTIS Group’s strategy of diversification and growth.
Luxury real estate is a first for APTIS. How do you explain this choice?
Opportunism, in its most positive sense, is part of the APTIS Group’s DNA. When the opportunity presented itself, we took the time to study it carefully. We immediately saw both the value of a prestigious brand like BARNES, and the tremendous growth potential this acquisition represented. The reputation of BARNES is indeed global, and we are confident that we can unleash its full potential in Mauritius and the Indian Ocean.
Can we already imagine the impact of real estate tax reform on foreign investment?
Our market is indeed sensitive to changes in tax regulations. Only time will tell what impact the latest budget will have on foreign investment. What we do know, however, is that Mauritius remains a destination of choice for lifestyle investors who are sensitive to arguments such as our tropical climate, social and political security and stability, multiculturalism and access to international schools. We must not lose sight of the global context, and the idea that Mauritius can be seen as an ideal refuge for our customers.
What strategy will be put in place to consolidate Barnes Maurice’s presence – and excellence – on the Mauritian and international markets?
I’m confident about the future. We are currently in a phase of consolidation of our support functions (marketing, administration, compliance), which will support our sales growth over the next few years. By combining market share gains with the launch of new services, we are confident of achieving satisfactory growth nationwide. We also aim to develop our brand in the Indian Ocean region. A new chapter in our adventure begins!
BARNES Mauritius
A New Chapter for APTIS
Having arrived in Mauritius over a decade ago, François Colin joined the APTIS group in 2019. Tasked with the strategic repositioning of Resiglas, he continued to forge ahead by becoming Group Marketing Manager. With the acquisition of BARNES Mauritius in 2025, an exciting new adventure awaits him: that of General Manager of the property company. It is a fresh chapter he is approaching with great enthusiasm!
Originally specialising in distribution, how did APTIS group’s diversification come about?
It is quite a recent story, as our first company, TNS Tobacco, was launched in 2009. We quickly felt the need to diversify in order to seize new growth opportunities. Today, we are active across five business sectors: distribution, services, retail, investments and, most recently, property. This represents rapid growth that really embodies APTIS Group’s ambitions both locally and regionally.
Does the acquisition of BARNES Mauritius mark the group’s first foray into property?
APTIS group is not entirely new to this sector. We have previously been involved in residential development projects, particularly through an RES scheme, and we also manage three commercial buildings in Riche-Terre through our APTIS Property division.
With the 2025 acquisition of BARNES Mauritius, we are taking a significant step forward by clearly stating our ambitions in this sector, which remains one of the pillars of the Mauritian economy. It is a fascinating business that fits perfectly with APTIS group’s diversification and growth strategy.
Luxury property is a first for APTIS. How do you explain this choice?
Strategic opportunism, in the most positive sense, is part of APTIS Group’s DNA. When the opportunity arose, we took time to study it carefully. We immediately recognised both the value of a prestigious brand like BARNES and the tremendous growth potential this acquisition represented. BARNES has a genuinely global reputation, and we are convinced we can unlock its full potential in Mauritius and across the Indian Ocean.
Can we already anticipate the impact of property tax reform on foreign investment?
Our market is indeed sensitive to changes in tax regulation. Only time will tell us the true impact of the latest budget on foreign investment. What we do know, however, is that Mauritius remains a destination of choice for ‘lifestyle’ investors who are drawn to factors such as our tropical climate, social and political security and stability, our multiculturalism, and access to international schools. We must not lose sight of the global context and the idea that Mauritius can be seen as an ideal safe haven for our clients.
What strategy will be put in place to consolidate BARNES Mauritius’s presence-and excellence-in both the Mauritian and international markets?
I am confident about the future. We are currently consolidating our support functions (marketing, administration, compliance) which will enable us to support our commercial growth over the coming years. By combining market share conquest with launching new services, we are convinced we will achieve satisfactory growth nationally. We also have ambitions to develop our brand across the Indian Ocean region. It is a new chapter in the adventure that is just beginning!
