Oceans Mall is set to sue ‘Sunday Times’ over ‘big lie’
Durban — Prominent Durban businessman Vivian Reddy says his legal team will serve summons on the Sunday Times for defamation regarding a report on Oceans Mall in uMhlanga.
The article, published on Sunday, titled “Reddy under fire from Ocean’s Investors”, claimed that “shareholders in a company with ties to Vivian Reddy complain of a seven-year communications vacuum about their money”.
The Sunday Times reported that in 2017, the unlisted Oceans Hotel’s investment arm – Oceans Invest – invited members of the public to purchase shares in the venture, with each share launched at R20.
Each buyer had to purchase a minimum of 50 shares, which equated to R1 000.
The publication also stated that at the same time, Reddy was set to have bought R10 000 worth of shares for each of his two domestic workers and that a further 460 domestic workers would receive discounted shares.
“Two years later, some shareholders complained about a new R4 billion development – which included two residential towers comprising 460 apartments – as they had not received communication regarding it,” read the article.
Following Reddy’s defamation claims, Business Times editor Caiphus Kgosana said that they stood by their story.
On Sunday, Reddy lashed out at the article, claiming it was void of facts.
“It’s a big lie as there are no public shareholders in Oceans Mall or Oceans Residences.
“The headline is misleading and defamatory as a factual report was presented to the newspaper and they chose to omit pertinent information, therefore rendering the article incoherent and fake. We will take legal action and force a public apology.”
Reddy said news was supposed to be fair and objective and that the Sunday Times had a history of trying – via misleading information – to paint Oceans Development in a negative light.
He said that this vendetta against Oceans Development has to stop – “enough is enough”.
“The article quotes shareholders of the public offering of the hotel that are misleading, and not truthful. The fact is that the 23 000 public shareholders are sent annual reports and we have proof of that,” Reddy said.
“The hotel is performing extremely well and a top performer in the Radisson group and has received numerous awards for outstanding performance,” he said.
Reddy said the article quotes three of the 23 000 shareholders and the three are ignorant of the process. The article is not factual and makes it sensational with a fake headline.
Commenting on the Sunday Times article, Oceans Hotel COO Brian Mpono said: “We have constantly informed shareholders and confirmed that one of them – Sanjeev Lutchman – owned 500 shares and invested R10 000. The company secretary advised him; we have proof/confirmation that he received the company reports/communication (and) he admitted he did receive some communication.”
Mpono said they host regular AGMs with shareholders; the most recent was in February this year. This meeting was attended by more than 600 shareholders, and more than 23 000 shareholders had taken the offer to invest in the entity that owned the hotel.
Financial and Investor Communications (Finic) owner Matthew Clark said he communicated with shareholders once a year and when he sent notices about attending the AGM, some had not even opened their emails.
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Daily News