The Galley’s lease up for grabs again

The 20-year lease for Fish Hoek’s beachfront restaurant, The Galley, is once again up for grabs next month.

Interested parties can bid on the lease on Wednesday October 2 at noon at the DHL Stadium in Green Point.

The opening bid will be R100 000.

In November last year, the restaurant’s lease was among several properties and leases that the City put up for auction (“The Galley lease up for auction,” Echo November 9).

Last year, the bid for the lease on the 1295m² stand opened at R50 000 and was sold to the highest bidder, restaurateur, and former owner of the Harbour House Group, Michael Townsend, for R380 000 on November 23 (“End of an Era for The Galley,” Echo, November 30, 2023).

However, earlier this year, the City questioned the legitimacy of the bid after it came to light that Mr Townsend had made the bid on behalf of the Kalk Bay Waterfront Development (KBWD), the lessor of the Harbour House building at the Kalk Bay Harbour, and not his own business, K2023, a subsidiary of Sweetheart of the Rodea (Pty) Ltd. Mr Townsend is the biggest shareholder of KBWD.

In August, the Echo reported that a letter from the City’s lawyers to Mr Townsend revealed that he had won the auction but he had not been authorised to represent KBWD, despite indicating otherwise to the auctioneer.

Mr Townsend was registered only to bid for K2023 with bidding number 517, yet the winning bid was recorded under number 512 for KBWD.

This despite Mr Townsend’s company, Sweetheart of the Rodeo (Pty) Ltd, depositing R1 915 045.47 into KBWD's account, which was then paid to the auction company for one month’s rent plus VAT and a 5% commission on the first 60 months of the lease (“Galley lease could be up for grabs again,” Echo, August 5).

The City said that based on the facts, the offer did not comply with the City’s mandate and it referred the matter to its Immovable Property Adjudication Committee (IPAC) for a decision.

The Echo asked the City for a copy of the IPAC’s report, but mayoral committee member for economic growth James Vos said the IPAC report was an internal document.

“The City intends to grant the long-term lease rights to a suitable lessee who will help the site reach its full potential as a tourism catalyst for the area and result in the retention and creation of local economic opportunities,” he said.

Mr Townsend confirmed that he would be participating in the next auction.

Mathea Eichel, who along with her husband, Herbie, currently holds the lease on a month-to-month basis, said she would not be participating in the auction.