Maurice Shawzin claims he was intricately
involved in brokering the deal but was never paid his commission of R51m in the R9.7bn transaction – South Africa’s single biggest property deal.
The V&A was bought by Growthpoint Properties.
At the time of the deal, Shawzin was in partnership with property mogul Neill Bernstein. They had joined forces to get Dubai World to sell the V & A Waterfront.
However, that partnership has since been dissolved after the high court ruled in favour of Shawzin over a dispute with Bernstein’s company, Devland Holdings.
The order dissolved their partnership and appointed Cape Town liquidator Andre van Heerden to pursue the “facilitation fee” claimed by Shawzin.
Van Heerden has already served summons on
Growthpoint, signalling his intention to take the fee dispute to the high
court.
Growthpoint however feels there is no merit in the claim and will therefore defend it, said the company’s legal representative Riaan du Plessis.