Business rescue practitioners responsible for Tegeta Exploration and Resources have applied to have Oakbay Investments liquidated.
As first reported by Netwerk24, this comes as Oakbay is struggling to pay Tegeta.
Tegeta business rescue practitioner Louis Klopper confirmed to Fin24 on Tuesday morning that Tegeta had applied to initiate a process of liquidating Oakbay, which was the flagship SA company of the Gupta family.
The application was lodged in the Johannesburg High Court.
“We have made [the] application. We issued the papers last night. Obviously Oakbay will have to apply their opposing papers and it must go to the courts,” said Klopper.
According to Tegeta's notice of motion, Oakbay owes it R2.4m in back rent.
According to the motion, the back rent is for office space, telephones, stationary and kitchen facilities.
Back rent and interest
The motion states that since October 2013 Oakbay has been renting office space from Tegeta at Grayston Ridge Office Park in Sandton. The agreement was originally for R150 000 (excluding VAT) per month. This would increase by 10% each year.
Tegeta states that Oakbay has however not been paying the yearly increases in rent. It also did not pay any rent between June 2018 and January 2019, according to the court filing.
The motion states that Tegeta served demands of payment to Oakbay in December 2018, but these went unanswered.
"Given the facts, I have been advised that the respondent is deemed to be unable to pay its debt ... and is liable to be wound-up," states business rescue practitioner Kurt Knoop in his founding affidavit.
Fin24 could not immediately reach Oakbay for comment.