The Vineyard Hotel in Cape Town faces a provisional winding up action over its alleged failure to settle a debt of R159 000. Alan Lyons, director of OnShelf Investment Five, has brought the application in the Western Cape High Court.

‘A liquidator will be in a position to determine whether it is viable to continue with the business or whether the business should be finally wound up,’ Lyons said in an affidavit, reports the Sunday Times.

‘The lockdown had a dramatic impact on the liquidity of all operators in the hospitality industry. As a result, the (hotel) is simply unable to pay the rental arrears for the units it rents/rented.’

Lyons said the hotel had failed to pay R159 678 for the rental of storage units leased from his company in 2018.

The lease agreements ended in September this year.

He said he had demanded payment through his lawyer, but the hotel's financial director had disputed the amount and ‘requested all invoices in order to be able to settle the dispute’.

‘On 12 August 2020, the hotel made a payment on account in the amount of R96 879. (My) managing agent then prepared a reconciliation statement taking the payment made by the (hotel) into account, which still left a balance then due in the amount of R159 678.’

George Petousis, owner and CEO of Petousis Family Holdings, which incorporates The Vineyard, said the hotel was a ‘solvent, liquid and fully functioning business’ and would defend the dispute in court.

He said the allegation about not being able to pay debts was ‘spurious and unfounded’.

The matter will be heard on 4 December.

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