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THE FUTURE of a century-old Glencairn landmark hotel does not lie in jeopardy with a pending auction in April, the current owners of the Southern Right Hotel maintain.

The land and buildings currently housing the Southern Right Hotel, Flukes restaurant, the Blowhole pub and several small businesses are to go under the hammer on Tuesday, 15 April. In addition to these (all on erf 2454), the current parking space on erf 235 will also be up for grabs.

The hotel has been a prominent feature of the False Bay coastline since 1904 and has over the past century been known as the Glencairn Hotel and the Just Nuisance Inn.

In 2004, a century after it was built, it was reopened as the Southern Right Hotel by the current owners of the land - Frans Hollenbach (majority shareholder), Paul Jaques, Bovain MacNab, Guido Richert and Andrew Weeks.

The land is in the name of their holding company, Glencairn Hotel (Pty) Ltd, while their businesses are held by their operating company, Southern Right (Pty) Ltd.

Weeks explained that the businesses have leases and could continue to trade after the auction. Other businesses which rent space on the site together pay approximately R255 000 a year in rental, while the hotel, restaurant and pub pay around R750 000.

Various reasons have been cited as contri?buting factors in what many feel is a surprising decision to sell prime income-earning land, and locals are surmising as to what the reasons for the auction could be.

An entry on the Simon?s Town Property Owners News' website quotes Glencairn resident Lady Cilla Bromley as saying: "The current owners have got disheartened following a number of burglaries, and their attempts to enlarge the facilities to make the hotel viable being blocked. The loss of this hotel will be a great loss to the valley".

Both Weeks and Jaques denied that crime was a motivating factor in the decision, although "several break-ins" had contributed to the general feeling of despondency arising from council's perceived unwillingness or inability to deal with an application for expansionary development on the land.

Weeks reiterated that only the land was for sale and not the hotel as a going concern.

He added that the auction would have a high reserve and it was not the owners? definite intention to sell, but rather to "test the market".

Said Weeks: "We have had a number of offers, but an auction is a good way to see if there are serious buyers while establi?shing the market value of the property.

Obviously, if an attractive offer is made, we will take it. If someone offers a realistic price for the hotel and restaurant, of course we will be interested, but that would come later".

Jaques said there were several factors involved in the decision to sell, but it was largely because "we all want to do other things with our lives now". He added, however, that if the reserve price could not be met, or if approval to develop could be obtained from council, they may reconsider their decision to sell.

Jaques conceded that the potential sale could be of concern to the community, parti?cularly in light of several other development applications in the same area.

Both Jaques and Weeks denied any communication regarding the sale with adjacent land owner Martin Kelly, whose plans for his erven have stirred some controversy.

Weeks said he was not personally in favour of Kelly's development on erven 1 and 3410, but said the two issues were unconnected.

Duncan Bates, the applicant in those instances (on behalf of Kelly), denied any knowledge of the auction.

Hollenbach, the majority shareholder in the Southern Right, was overseas and could not be reached for comment. Hollenbach also heads up Boulders Beach Lodge.

Antonella Allen, financial manager for the Southern Right Hotel, reiterated that the hotel, restaurant and pub would continue to trade and that their leases were valid for ano?ther seven years.

She also moved to allay any fears of the hotel being demolished. "It is a heritage buil?ding. It doesn't matter who owns it - they can't knock it down."

aly@peoplespost.co.za

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