Cape Town - A bid by creditor Aerios to stop the sale of the Western Province Rugby (Pty) Ltd to a new company owned by the WP Rugby Union and Remgro was dismissed in the Western Cape High Court on Friday afternoon.
Aerios, a media and publishing agency who claim that they are owed R72 million by the WP Rugby (Pty) Ltd for providing services such as wi-fi and due to their commercial rights, submitted an urgent application on Friday to halt the sale of the company to a new entity, which was approved by the liquidator on Thursday.
Judge Dennis Davis ruled on Friday that the application by Aerios to stop the sale be dismissed with costs of two counsels.
Aerios had also opposed the final liquidation application by the WP Rugby Union for the company on Tuesday, but their view was described by Judge Ashley Binns-Ward as being “unpersuasive, with no substance and even fanciful”, according to a WP press release.
Aerios have not yet responded to requests for comment on Friday evening.
WP president Thelo Wakefield said on Thursday that he hoped all rugby bodies in South Africa will talk more often to face the challenges within the sport.
“How we got here are the reasons I gave following the provisional liquidation. If there are no bums in seats, if there are not enough suite-holders or season-ticket holders… And where there is outside interference by contractors, then any company will go down the tubes,” he said.
“All of us in SA rugby have to work hard to avoid a situation like this. But the very trying economic times is not only facing Western Province, but South African rugby (as a whole). Therefore, we all need to stand together to build the Springbok brand and those of the various unions.
“We should get together as presidents to exchange ideas, where we work together and not in silos as leaders of unions.”
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