JOHANNESBURG – It was down to a two-man race as Johannesburg ski club owner, Lew Campbell, and a Port Shepstone businessman vied for South Africa’s first and only ski and mountain resort as it went under the hammer in Johannesburg on Thursday.
White-haired Campbell, standing towards the back of the High St Auction Co venue in Hyde Park as the auction got underway, jumped in the air as his R5.5m bid was declared successful when auctioneer Joff van Reenen brought down the gavel, saying: “Sold.”
There was a brief break in the proceedings as the bearded businessman, having raised his bid to R5.25m, asked permission to make a quick phone call. “To the bank maybe, or the wife? Same thing,” quipped van Reenen.
The sprawling 101ha Tiffindell ski resort was in liquidation and sold under absolute auction with no reserved price. Van Reenen cautioned that this effectively meant anyone making a bid for the property, no matter how low, could find themselves the owner thereof.
Observers at the public sale said the R5.5m obtained was a steal. Auctioneers said it was difficult to ascertain the market value of the property because of its “uniqueness.” “How do you put a price on a museum?” asked van Reenen.
The resort, nestled in the southern Drakensberg in the Eastern Cape province, had been standing empty for at least a year and was in need of a fair amount of reparation, estimated to be in the region of between R3 and R5m.
The establishment closed its doors around three years ago following a protracted legal wrangle after founder Ivan van Eck sold a controlling share of the resort to Tiffski Property Investment in 2007. Tiffski promised to develop the attraction further but it subsequently went bankrupt.
Tiffindell was liquidated following a Supreme Court ruling in September 2011.
Speaking to Moneyweb minutes after his successful bid, Campbell said: “It’s something I’ve had my eye on for many, many years. I originally wanted to start something like that myself. They (the original owners) did what I had dreamed of doing.”
Campbell hasn’t viewed the property for quite some time and says from what he has been told: “There’s a lot of work to do. That’s why it went for that price.”
Plans are afoot to develop the resort which Campbell says he hopes to have up and running “on a small scale” by next winter. He says running the resort will tie in with his current business of teaching aspirant skiers during the high season overseas.
Twin brothers Ivan and Phillip van Eck started the resort in 1993 as a pilot skiing operation on the site which subsequently became a popular destination for singles, corporates and families.
Ivan van Eck, reflecting on the demise of the project, said: “We had the unfortunate circumstances of getting involved with the wrong people.”
Van Eck adds claims on the estate are in the region of around R30m. “That gives you an idea of how much value was destroyed by people that came in and changed the playing field.”
High Street Auction sales director, Nick Pretorius, says the house is happy with the price reached, as it’s difficult to determine the market value of a unique property like the Tiffindell.
It comprises, among others, 150 beds, restaurant, lounges and a shop including loose assets which are to be auctioned off separately.