A telephone bidding war brought great excitement to an auction for Gqeberha’s Arlington Racecourse — the first horse racing track ever to be auctioned in SA — before the property sold for R24.25m on Friday.
A Durban-based consortium, apparently interested in the 62ha property since day one, outbid two other prospective buyers to have the gavel finally drop on their offer.
“We saw some good competition among the bidders,” said Ish Hendricks, Broll Auctions’ group auctioneer.
“We had one gentleman from Gqeberha, but the two main bidders were from Johannesburg and Durban.
“The Durban consortium has a large property portfolio in KwaZulu-Natal, and showed interest in the property since we started advertising,” Hendricks said after the property was sold.
While the bidding closed on R24.25m, the buyers will have to fork out just shy of R30m after VAT and the auctioneers’ payment is added to the total.
Arlington was sold as part of a business rescue plan for SA’s largest horse racing and tote betting operator, Phumelela Gaming and Leisure.
The track, previously known as the St Andrews Racing Club, opened its doors on December 23 1950.
The track hosted its last race on December 6 2013.
The auction was held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Summerstrand, with bidding starting at R10m.
Quick back-and-forth bids between the three interested parties had the price up to R19m very quickly.
At that stage the Gqeberha bidder bowed out and bidding slowed down considerably as the two auctioning assistants took bids from their prospective buyers over the phone.
The price then went up in increments of R250,000.
At R22m the auctioneer raised his hammer to close the bidding in favour of the Durbanites, but the Johannesburg bidder swooped in at the last second.
Ultimately, with a further R2.25m on the table, the Durban consortium took the race.
Hendricks said they were satisfied with the price they got as initial estimates had been “in the high teens”.
“We are satisfied that we have realised its true value with this sale. The offer will now be presented to the sellers for a final decision,” he said.
Business rescue practitioner for Phumelela Gaming and Leisure, John Evans, said he was happy with the outcome of the auction, which “presents an exciting opportunity for the winning bidder”.
“The proceeds, once received, will be distributed to creditors in accordance with the business rescue plan,” Evans said.
While it is not clear exactly what the new owners’ intentions are for the property, it has been rezoned as “special purposes for residential units”.
Those in attendance at the auction speculated that the property could be used for commercial or residential development, while the possibility of a retirement village was also mentioned.
The property, bordering on Walmer Heights, is centrally located and fairly close to the airport, retail centres and prominent schools.
Hendricks said the property had piqued the interest of developers from all over the country due to its size and location.
“No matter what developers choose to do with the property, we are sure Arlington will live on as part of Gqeberha,” he said.
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