Cape Town - An application by Cape Royale The Residence for the provisional liquidation of ZAR Lounge is to be heard in the Western Cape High Court next month.
Cape Royale The Residence took Gayton McKenzie, trading as ZAR Lounge, to court over unpaid rent, levies and electricity totalling nearly R1 million.
McKenzie had leased the ground floor of the building from Cape Royale The Residence to run ZAR Lounge, a popular upmarket nightclub on Somerset Road, Green Point.
The company’s financial manager, Jacques Janse van Rensburg, said in an affidavit that the matter should be regarded as urgent because ZAR Lounge was still trading from the premises without paying rent.
“(This) effectively amounts to ‘squatting’ and thus constitutes grounds that this matter be heard on an urgent basis,” Janse van Rensburg said in court papers.
An initial provisional liquidation application was heard before Judge Owen Rogers on April 10 in which the company alleged that McKenzie owed it R849 000 as of March 1.
But the application was withdrawn because the rental was ceded to the bond holder, Absa, and R126 800 for unpaid levies and electricity was paid five days before the court hearing.
The company has since taken cession from the bank.
McKenzie rented the ground floor of the building in February 2011 for five years, for a monthly rent of R71 500.
According to Janse van Rensburg, McKenzie was in arrears with rental, levies and electricity amounting to R1.2m.
McKenzie, however, held a damages deposit of nearly R250 000 and if it was applied, the total arrears were listed at R954 000.
Janse van Rensburg said no further payments were made after April.
“I would submit that the only inference that can be drawn is that McKenzie is not in a position to make payments of its debts as and when such debts fall due for payment.”
High Court Judge James Yekiso ordered by agreement on Thursday that the application be heard on October 24. ZAR Lounge will then have an opportunity to show why the company should not be placed under final liquidation.
Cape Argus