JOHANNESBURG – Midrand’s Kyalami Racetrack has been sold for R205 million to Porsche South Africa with an intention to retain the property as a racetrack. This is the countrys first racetrack auction, and the highest value achieved for High Street Auction Co, says lead auctioneer Joff Van Reenen. The auction took place at Summer Place in Johannesburg. There were seven registered bidders for the property, who each forked out a refundable R4 million to participate in the auction. Its going to stay in the industry as a racetrack and remain [called] Kyalami Racetrack. We are happy with the auction amount, says Van Reenen. High Street Auction Co anticipated attendance figures of between 600 to 800 participants in the auction. The property was put up for auction because its holding company, Farm Bothasfontein, has been liquidated. The auction comes hot on the heels of a court application to prevent the auction, which was brought by 11 applicants claiming they had certain rights to the Kyalami track. “In terms of the court ruling released on July 15 2014 these claims were either waived by agreement or abandoned allowing for the public auction to proceed unhindered,” according to a High Street Auction Co statement. Initially High Street Auction Co did not put an exact figure to the race track, saying the property’s sale value was “impossible to predict”, and as such there was to be no reserve price (minimum price at which the property had to be sold). However, the court ordered the auction to have a set reserve price of R200 million. Before the auction, it was anticipated that the buyer would either rip-up and replace the racetrack with residential or commercial developments or retain the property as a racetrack. According to Van Reenen, the auction received interest not only in South Africa, but across the world including in America, London and Europe. The interested parties extended from racing enthusiasts wishing to retain the racetrack’s tradition, to listed property funds looking at development rights. Kyalami Race Track first opened in 1961 on the outskirts of Johannesburg. The property comprises approximately 72 hectares and the track has hosted racing heavy weights including Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Gilles Villeneuve who won the SA Grand Prix in 1979. A total of 21 Grand Prix were held. Today it is in the heart of a residential and commercial development node. The racetrack is situated near Waterfall City, an urban residential area. The area is also earmarked for the development of a R3.5 billion shopping centre by Atterbury Property, called Mall of Africa. This is expected to be a mixed use development node with retail, office and residential space.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 18:56:12 +0000