The board of Afristrat Investment Holdings, the suspended JSE-listed company in which investors invested R2.3bn in preference shares, has been forced to abandon its planned voluntary liquidation application for now, reports Moneyweb.

Afristrat, in an update published on Sens on Friday about its voluntary liquidation application, referred shareholders to its announcement on 24 July 2023 about a creditor of the company who had launched its own liquidation application against the company.

This application had been set down on the unopposed High Court motion roll to be heard on 20 July 2023 but was subsequently removed pending the outcome of an application to liquidate Afristrat that was lodged by Jienie-Michelle Dreyer, a single minority shareholder in the company.

Afristrat said the creditor intends to re-enrol its liquidation application.

This follows Judge Gregory Ally in the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) on 20 February 2024, dismissing with costs Dryer’s urgent application to provisionally liquidate Afristrat.

The company said the creditor applicant, whom it did not name, is currently awaiting a new date for the matter to be heard.

‘Consequently, Afristrat will not be able to proceed with its voluntary liquidation application at this time as the creditor application will take precedence,’ it said. 

Moneyweb reported on 29 February 2024 that Change The Conversation Digital (CTCD), a former client of Afristrat, would be re-enrolling an application to liquidate Afristrat because of R433 000 it claims is owing to it by the company.

Sandy Campbell, a director of CTCD, confirmed that their position had not changed since Afristrat had announced that its board planned to apply for the liquidation of the company because it is commercially insolvent.

Dreyer confirmed last week that she will definitely be applying for leave to appeal the dismissal of her application to liquidate.

The board of Afristrat Investment Holdings, previously known as Ecsponent, decided to liquidate the company on 1 March 2024.

Afristrat added that the conclusions reached by its board on the going concern assessment were unaffected by the judgment and dismissal of Dreyer’s liquidation application.

Afristrat last published audited financial results for the year to end-March 2021, with the JSE suspending all trading in its shares effective from 5 August 2022 because the company had failed to publish its audited financial statements for the year to end-March 2022 within the four-month period following its year-end, as stipulated in the JSE’s Listings Requirements.

Afristrat announced the resignation of its external auditors Nexia SAB&T on 12 August 2022 and, to date, has failed to appoint new external auditors, reports Moneyweb.

Full Moneyweb report