Court orders utility to disconnect Georgiou’s single biggest solely owned property.
A judgment by the Free State High Court has seen Mangaung power distributor Centlec disconnect the electricity supply to the largest mall in Bloemfontein, the Loch Logan Waterfront.
The property is owned by the Michael Family Trust (MFT), an entity controlled by Michael Georgiou. MFT, via other entities (including Azrapart), also jointly owns Fourways Mall in Johannesburg, along with Accelerate Property Fund.
Trustees of MFT and Loch Logan Waterfront (Pty) Ltd brought an urgent application before the Bloemfontein High Court in mid-January, followed by an interlocutory application in early February in which they sought to interdict Centlec from interrupting the supply of electricity to the premises.
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Fourways Mall owner has R150 m bill in Free State
Centlec and the property owner have been at odds with each other for years over the mall’s outstanding electricity bill.
Centlec says MFT owes the utility “around R150 million”.
The court granted an interim order in both applications on the condition that the applicants comply with an agreement reached between the parties in October 2023.
Centlec says under this agreement, the property owner agreed to pay all amounts owed in respect of current usage of electricity supplied by the distributor. Judge Soma Naidoo dismissed both applications with costs.
Mall operating using generators
Electricity to the mall was disconnected on Tuesday. Loch Logan continues to trade, with power being supplied by generators.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, two outlets (Ocean Basket and Kloppers) in the mall shared social media posts, which were re-shared by the Waterfront’s page, confirming that they were open and trading had not been interrupted.
A statement says that “around 99% of stores” continue to trade as normal.
Loch Logan Waterfront, which is located in central Bloemfontein, has a gross lettable area of 80 189m² (just less than half the size of Fourways Mall). Its size is about equivalent to Clearwater Mall or Cresta Shopping Centre.
Loch Logan’s tenants include all the major banks, Cape Union Mart, Clicks, Cotton On, Dis-Chem and Baby City, Edgars, H&M, iStore, Kloppers, Mr Price, Pep, Pick n Pay, Truworths and Woolworths, along with most TFG brands, and a number of independent or niche outlets.
It is also home to most popular restaurant and fast-food chains.
ALSO READ: How Fourways Mall co-owner allowed prime malls to deteriorate
Debt collection by power distributor
Centlec told OFM News that “following the (court rulings) in our favour, Centlec is in a better position to enforce its debt collection against some of these companies”.
Spokesperson Tseliso Leba said its move was not targeted at any specific entity, but rather forms part of “a continued effort to recover revenue and to ensure proper maintenance of our network infrastructure and physical verification of our infrastructure”.
Earlier this month, Centlec shared how it was battling with a debt book that had topped R1.1 billion.
According to reports last year, the Free State Development Corporation owed the utility R450 million at the time, while the provincial government was R200 million in arrears.
Georgiou and MFT are no strangers to controversy.
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A settlement that was reached between Accelerate and various Georgiou-linked entities regarding Fourways Mall in November 2024 lapsed, and the listed group warned shareholders that it may be forced to write off the R800 million it is owed.
Georgiou was then ousted from the board of Accelerate in October, following 97% of shareholders voting against his appointment as a director. He was the CEO of Accelerate upon its listing on the JSE in December 2013.
This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
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