DairyBelle properties ring up top prices at auction

PROPERTIES belonging to DairyBelle, arguably the oldest dairy products company in South Africa and an iconic household name in the industry, have been auctioned for a total of R66 million.

The sale of the two properties to successful bidder Giant Sweets, owned by Noor Karriem, was confirmed on June 23.

“We are going to develop the site. We are going to (build) industrial units, according to the size tenants want,” said Karriem in commenting on his plans for the two properties.

DairyBelle had been experiencing financial problems that forced staff retrenchments since January at its plants in Port Elizabeth, Bloemhof in the North West Province and Epping.

The auction, conducted by auction house Clear Asset at ENSafrica, as part of the liquidation sale of DairyBelle Pty Ltd, had been instructed by HCRS and several joint liquidators.

On the sale, Clear Asset managing director and auctioneer Ariella Kuper said: “Signs of a buoyant market for industrial land in the Western Cape are certainly evident after there was much demand for these properties.

“The doors of the DairyBelle plant were closed under the final liquidation order and since then the property attracted much interest from buyers and developers.”

Bidding commenced at R10 million, moving rapidly to R17.5m for the smaller property previously rented by Clover for their UHT milk production.

The larger erf, used for dairy production (milk, yoghurt, butter) and fruit juice with a registered servitude road in-between, secured R42m.

The moveables of the Epping plant are to be sold on Clear Asset’s online auction on July 18, 2017.