Business rescue practitioners (BRPs) have launched an urgent application in the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) to have Danmar Autobody, a brand operating in the panelbeating industry for about 20 years, to be liquidated.

TimesLIVE reports that BRPs Harold Cesman and Kobus Coetzee want the court to convert the company’s business rescue into liquidation, saying it is not 'capable of being rescued'.

The company, owned by Makaziwe Mandela and her business partners Howard Bloomberg and Colin Yach, was bought from Imperial for R20m in 2016.

The BRPs said they were unable to get funding for the company to continue operating and could not find a buyer.

In addition, they allege 'improper misuse' of company funds by one of the shareholders.

'It would appear that (the shareholder) utilised the company's funds to fund his own personal lifestyle and to capitalise another business in which he is the sole member. Since he became involved with the company in 2017, (he) appears to have misused R18.5m to his own bank accounts and through cash withdrawals,' Cesman alleged in his founding affidavit.

Cesman said the company's major creditors, who represented the majority vote in any meeting for the adoption of a business rescue plan, had unequivocally stated that they would not support a business rescue and preferred a winding-up of the company.

Cesman and Coetzee also raised concerns about the apparent failure of the company to pay VAT and its alleged indebtedness for millions of rands to SARS.

Lawyer Wikus Steyl, representing the BRPs, said there had been no confirmed court date set down for the matter.

Full TimesLIVE report