PARTIAL MEIKLES SALE FLOPS
PLANS to sell parts of Meikles, Zimbabwe’s iconic conglomerate, fell through yesterday after the company reached an agreement with Core Solutions on outstanding fees. Meikles owed Core Solutions money for helping it recoup funds held by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. However, the two have haggled over facilitation fees leading to Core Solutions obtaining a court order to auction Meikles shares. Meikles company secretary Thabani Mpofu, however, failed to specify the terms of agreement. Industry sources said Core Solutions had obtained a payment plan from the Zimbabwe listed company. Meikles has been facing challenges in settling financial obligations such as loans and advances. The company has sounded alarm that it was the subject of litigation for various loan defaults, including a $4.6 million (R61.57m) unsecured borrowing that fell due in October 2017 from a governmentrelated financial institution, as well as “loan instalments and interest amounting to $1.1m that were in arrears as at March 31, 2018”. Zimbabwean companies are increasingly losing property and valuables as a result of failure to settle bank loans or fees for services. Another auctioneering notice was issued yesterday by Muthaiga Auctioneers for the auctioning of mining equipment from the Mazowe mine, owned by Metallon, over a high court case involving the Associated Mineworkers Union of Zimbabwe. |