Embattled PLG Schools has not only let down the parents of the learners who were taught at some of their unregistered schools, but has also disappointed the owner of a property from which one of its schools operates.
Johan van Dyk, the property owner who used to run a classy wedding venue called Mellow Oaks on the property now known as PLG Mellow Oaks Academy, at 8 Van Staden Road in Aanwins AH near Ruimsig, is an unhappy man after his deal with PLG Schools to purchase the property yielded no results.
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In an in-depth interview with the Northsider, Van Dyk explained the daunting process he had gone through to get PLG to either pay the huge amount outstanding on the purchase price or repossess his property, which is currently operating as a school.
“I was the owner of the property from 1998 until 1 November 2015, when I received an offer from the CEO of PLG, Mr Andrew McLachlan, to purchase the property,” he said
“The Offer to Purchase agreement was signed on 27 June 2015.”
He explained that a total of R700 000 was paid in four payments during the course of December 2015 and February 2016. “With the deposit being paid in bits and pieces, I should have been warned of what might lie ahead in the sale of my property to PLG,” said Van Dyk, reflecting on the debacle.
During this process, he said PLG requested two favours from him; the first was that he vacate the property as they wanted to change the existing rooms into classrooms before beginning operations as a school in 2016, and secondly, they asked to use the name ‘Mellow Oaks’.
“We accommodated them, and as a result we had to cancel weddings that were already booked. In January 2016, they started operating as PLG Mellow Oaks with 200 learners, and charging about R4 000 per learner per month, which would amount to an income of about R800 000 per month,” Van Dyk explained.
According to the disgruntled property owner, he started encountering problems with PLG regarding the outstanding balance. He said they kept requiring extension upon extension to pay the balance owed by them for about two years, up until the amount began to accumulate interest.
“After the first extension by PLG for the delivery of the Guarantees, I requested that they start to pay Occupational Rent. After yet another request for an extension, I proceeded to request that interest be paid on the outstanding amount of the purchase price as well as Occupational Rent,” he explained.
He further explained, “At one point, PLG tried to use the Occupational Rent as a down payment for the outstanding purchase price. After five months of going back and forth with PLG’s attorneys – where they tried every trick in the book to pay less – we settled on an agreement”.
However, the agreement yielded no results, as PLG, according to Van Dyk, requested yet another extension for the delivery of the Guarantees. He said they tried to sweeten the deal by raising the purchase price and occupational rent but never kept to their promise. He also mentioned that they proposed to give him shares in the company which would be sold off upon registration of transfer of the property. “We asked PLG to guarantee that we would receive, at a minimum, the original listed value of R1 per share. This was to ensure that should the share price drop below the original sale price, we would still receive the money owed to us and not a cent less,” he said in explanation of the conditions of the agreement, which he said PLG could not guarantee.
Van Dyk indicated that it was clear to him at that stage that PLG would not keep their promise, so he went back to the original agreement and fought for the guarantees for the balance of the amount outstanding which he said was meant to be paid on 31 March 2017 and become payable upon registration of transfer of the property by no later than 7 April 2017. “… also, the Occupational Rent that was proposed in December 2016 would remain payable until date of transfer, as well as interest on the outstanding amount. Once again they did not deliver on their promises and on 14 June 2017 they came up with yet another excuse and request an extension of time until 31 August,” he explained.
He added that the end of August was just another empty promise. He said the money owed to him by this time, according to his attorney, was R4,8 million including interest. However, he claimed that this was disputed by PLG, who allegedly reduced the amount and claimed to owe him a lesser amount.
Van Dyk informed the Northsider that, as the matter remained unsettled, he had to take out a coverage mortgage bond of R5 760 000 to safeguard the property against any unlawful sale or transfer, and in the interim took legal action against PLG, “in light of their reluctance to accept the signed agreement”.
While the matter was in the High Court, Van Dyk said, “They came with a settlement offer to be presented to the High Court Judge. In their offer, they out of the blue accepted responsibility for owing the amount, plus interest and including all legal fees. My attorney proceeded to offer them a counter proposal with a slightly higher interest rate per annum from the date of registration of transfer of the property into PLG’s name.”
He said PLG failed meet the payments arranged until their attorney proceeded to put the property up for auction through the court-appointed sheriff. On the day of the auction, the interested buyer with the highest bid of R6,6 million could not secure the purchase. He then realised that PLG was using a phantom buyer to try to buy the property.
The purchase has, until today, not been completed. Both parties have taken each other to court, to no avail. Van Dyk concluded his interview with the Northsider by saying: “My wife and I ran Mellow Oaks Wedding Venue for more than 17 years and this sale should have been the end of that era. We worked seven days a week to build our business from the ground up. Now, thanks to PLG, we have been robbed of our retirement”.
