Fast & furious sale
AUCTION: WATSON EMPIRE’S HEAD OFFICE GOES UNDER HAMMER TODAY
This 2013 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, driven by the late Gavin Watson before Bosasa purchased a BMW X5 for him, is being auctioned at the Bosasa head office in Krugersdorp today, although the company tried to stop the auction.
Company pitches last-ditch effort to stop sale.
In a last-ditch attempt to stop millions of rands in assets being auctioned off today, Bosasa filed papers in the High Court in Johannesburg yesterday to enter into business rescue.
Their attorneys, Goodes and Seedat Incorporated, contend in their court papers that if the liquidators continue with the auction they will in effect be in contempt of court because they do not have the consent of the company’s directors to sell off their assets.
Following months of controversy over corruption allegations during Jacob Zuma’s tenure, the Bosasa empire will come to an end today as its assets are auctioned off – legally, said auction company Park Village Auctions’ Clive Lazarus.
Despite claims made by a relative of the Watson family that the auction was illegal, Lazarus assured potential buyers the sale of properties was “a 100% legal”.
“Bosasa has been in liquidation for seven months,” Lazarus said. “The liquidators have had an uphill battle in the appointment of getting the assets under their control.
“There has been a Supreme Court of Appeal case which was won last week to conduct the auction today.
“We can assure everybody that the sale is legal; everyone’s money is safe.
The Krugersdorp headquarters had received a lot of interest, with more than 400 people viewing it yesterday.
The property includes the firm’s fleet of company cars, commercial bakkies, the late CEO Gavin Watson’s vehicles – a Porsche and BMW X5 – water tankers, refrigeration trucks, expensive office furniture, computer equipment, high-end security equipment and industrial catering and kitchen equipment.
Also up for sale is the Campus, which forms a part of Bosasa’s headquarters, and the Copper Plant and Lindela Repatriation Centre, a stone’s throw away.
Lazarus said there “is value for everything; labels are still on some chairs, some haven’t been used at all – and some have been imported”.
Bosasa, renamed African Glob“We al Operations in 2017, and its subsidiary companies were placed under voluntary liquidation in February, following two major banks indicating they would be closing the company’s accounts as a result of the company’s alleged implication in corruption.
The revelations stemmed from evidence by former Bosasa chief operating officer Angelo Agrizzi before the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.
“Unless there is a court order, the sale goes on,” says Lazarus.