Turnaround plan for Kings Mall
The worst may be over for Kings Mall in Gonubie as a turnaround strategy is being implemented by the provisional liquidators to attract tenants back to the shopping centre.
One of the provisional liquidators, Stephen Gore of Sanek Trust, said they would visit East London in the near future to meet tenants and look at how they could assist them.
“We are doing everything we can to steady the ship and make it work ... the idea now is to climb in and make it happen,” he said.
Gore said it was still too early to discuss what they were going to do, but said there were a number of interested parties already looking to invest in the centre as tenants.
“At the moment it is too soon to discuss these details,” he said. He did, however, add that interest had been expressed in the space recently vacated by Baron's Select, which is relocating to the new Hemingway's Mall.
He said they had appointed Hermans and Roman property solutions , who manage a significant portfolio of retail, commercial and industrial properties for public, private and listed sector clients, to take over the property management aspects of the mall.
Gore said the subsidiary company of Kings Financial Holdings was placed in provisional liquidation, with creditors having until September 25 to give reasons why the order should not be made final.
He said the mall would eventually be sold, but that was a long way off.
The mall has seen a flood of tenants leaving since the provisional liquidation in July after an inspection report compiled by the Financial Services Board indicated that directors Adrian, Paul and Stephen King had misappropriated investors' money and misled them as to the safety of their investments.
Most recent to close was Eileen's Clothing and Perfume, which had a closing down sale last weekend.
Other tenants who have recently left include Yum Clothing and Accessories; Just Surfing and Sport; Cell & Data; Sleep Tight; and Pet Planet.
SuperSpar anchor tenant owner Götz von Westernhagen suggested the new centre management look at introducing a rental system based on turnover, rather than floor space.
Some of the shopping space could also be converted into high-end offices, and he would also like to see coffee shops and restaurants such as a Wimpy brought into the centre.
“It would also be good to see more diversification in the clothing offering, such as an Ackermans or a Mr Price,” he added.
Source: Daily Dispatch
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