Depending which way the dice rolls at Thursday evening’s Special General Meeting of members, Gold Circle should be able to complete their compressed and very popular SA Champions Season programme and hopefully combine business and racing minds to find ways to restore profitability in the future.
An application brought by leading owner and Gold Circle member Nic Jonsson in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Wednesday to prevent the Thursday ‘Zoom’ Special General meeting proceeding was dismissed by Judge Nompumelelo Radebe.
A member of a longstanding horseracing family, Mr Jonsson said that the meeting could lead to in the region of R230 million becoming available – which far exceeds the R50 million needed by the racing operator this financial year.
He said that there was no proposed plan or structure for how the funds are to be spent.
He said the nature of the move could be disastrously prejudicial, particularly in the hands of a board that has allowed the financial problems to escalate to the current point,
Veteran Club Secretary Dave Furness said that as a result of the lockdown, Gold Circle had incurred almost R33 million in operating losses, with a further loss of R33,5 million to the end of the racing season.
Furness contended that suspending the Zoom meeting would be to the detriment local racing and could lead to the ultimate failure of the company.
Greg Harpur, SC, for Mr Jonsson said that Gold Circle only informed members of the meeting on May 21.
He argued Gold Circle’s Constitution did not envisage or permit members’ meetings to be held via video conferencing platforms.
He said that the meeting will not facilitate rigorous debate about the merits and demerits of the proposed resolutions and a proper consideration of the alternatives to the proposed resolutions.
Max du Plessis, SC, for Gold Circle countered that the Zoom web facility didn’t exist seven years ago, which is why it is not in the company’s constitution.
Dave Furness said that members still had to vote and there was no clear-cut guarantee that the resolution would succeed. He also suggested that the claim that the money would be improperly used was pure speculation.
The meeting, he confirmed, is to determine whether or not 75 percent of members support the resolution.
If the vote goes against unlocking the funds, business rescue is the likely only option available as Gold Circle have, according to submissions, just over two weeks of funding available.
