A creditor in the failed Cotswold Downs Management company has cut its losses and sold off its R3 million debt to a third party and pulled out of litigation to liquidate the company.
However, while WBHO Teichmann withdrew as an intervening creditor in the Durban High Court yesterday, the fate of the management company that developed the upmarket Cotswold Downs golf estate in Hillcrest is still murky, with another adjournment of a final winding-up application.
The Mercury understands that negotiations are still going on behind the scenes between First National Bank - which initiated the liquidation proceedings - and a "white knight", as alluded to by provisional liquidator Pierre Berrange at a meeting earlier this year.
However, yesterday Berrange said he knew nothing about these negotiations.
He said he had control over the company's finances and the company had not paid out WBHO Teichmann.
This was confirmed by WBHO's Mike Simpson, who said the debt had been bought by a third party "for an amount of money".
"The original debt due by the development company to the joint venture remains payable, but it is now due to the third party that acquired the claim.
"In addition, the joint venture has agreed to withdraw their action against Cotswold Downs," he said.
Cotswold Downs attorney Maria Davey declined to comment, saying the settlement details were confidential.
The company and two associated companies, Cotswold Lakes and the Fischer Road Water Service Provider, were placed into provisional liquidation by FirstRand Bank in February. The bank claimed it was owed R40m.
At the same time, the bank took judgment against its directors - Keith Wakefield, Trevor Botsis and Nicolaas van Rooyen - who had stood surety for the loan from the bank.
The Mercury has been unable to establish whether the bank has executed against these judgments.
The court action left about 120 "investors" or option holders in the estate financially devastated, because they had not taken transfer of their sites and they were left out of pocket by R60m collectively and they are at the bottom of the pecking order of creditors.
The liquidation order was expected to be made final in March, but it was continuously adjourned, apparently while the financial rescue plan was being negotiated.
According to documents placed before the court by Berrange, the claims of secured creditors (the banks, including FirstRand Bank) stood at R124m, the taxman was owed R6.3m and the municipality R6.2m in rates.
The concurrent creditors, including the investors or "option holders", were claiming R106m.
