Chief Stipe Posted May 4, 2020 Share Posted May 4, 2020 Phumelela Gang announced need for financial relief. By James Stevens/Racing Post Today, 4:18 PM The group which operates the majority of racecourses in South Africa warned on Monday it was facing bankruptcy as it emerged the sport's shutdown could extend for a further four weeks, despite earlier plans for a resumption from last Friday. Phumelela Gaming, which operates tracks including Turffontein and Vaal and provides pool betting services, released interim results that referenced a "dire situation" for horse racing in the country and outlined its need for financial relief. That situation has been compounded by the ongoing shutdown of South African racing, which missed an intended return on Friday and now faces an extended wait before resuming action. South Africa went into the fourth stage of lockdown last week—at which point it was believed racing would be permitted to continue—but the National Horseracing Authority (NHA) now expects the government's green light will only come in the next stage of the country's coronavirus response. The Racing Post understands the NHA believes that will come in around three to four weeks' time, at which point they will request the sport's resumption again. This confusion meant Turffontein's three group 1 races, the Horse Chestnut Stakes and South African Derby and Oaks, were rescheduled from last Saturday to Sunday, May 10, but are now unlikely to go ahead unless there is a U-turn on resumption from the government. There are fears that the races may be taken off the 2020 calendar completely. Patrick Davis, racing executive, said: "We had provisionally rescheduled the SA Derby, SA Oaks and Horse Chestnut Stakes from 2 May to 10 May—but given the likely scenario that we're still not permitted to resume by then, further discussions within the industry will need to take place around the Pattern races this year. "We've already delayed the Pattern by a month in the hope that we might be able to resume within that time frame and run these important races in a constricted season, but it'll be back to the drawing board if we can't and it may well be that certain Pattern races will have to be canceled this year if they are unable to fit into a further constricted time period. It's a work in progress." On Monday the country's major racecourse group Phumelela revealed its losses for the six month period that ended January 31 increased to R115.1 million (£4.96 million), from R61.4 million (£2.64 million) at the same point last year. They may now file for voluntary liquidation. A statement from the group read: "At the date of this results announcement the prospects for horse-racing, other sports events and betting are uncertain and the board is in no position to provide reliable guidance. "The group is operating under onerous conditions, much of which is beyond its influence. Phumelela seeks further negotiations with the broader horse racing community to find a resolution to the dire situation in horse racing and agree commercially sustainable solutions. "The group remains engaged in discussions aimed at raising capital. Should these discussions not prove conclusive soon, the board will have to decide on whether there is any reasonable prospect that the Group's business can be rescued, or whether to make application for voluntary liquidation. "The board's current view is that even if financial relief can be obtained, a relief package should be negotiated as part of a business rescue plan. The board will make an announcement in this regard in the near future." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The group which operates the majority of racecourses in South Africa warned on Monday it was facing bankruptcy as it emerged the sport's shutdown could extend for a further four weeks, despite earlier plans for a resumption from last Friday. Phumelela Gaming, which operates tracks including Turffontein and Vaal and provides pool betting services, released interim results that referenced a "dire situation" for horse racing in the country and outlined its need for financial relief. That situation has been compounded by the ongoing shutdown of South African racing, which missed an intended return on Friday and now faces an extended wait before resuming action. South Africa went into the fourth stage of lockdown last week—at which point it was believed racing would be permitted to continue—but the National Horseracing Authority (NHA) now expects the government's green light will only come in the next stage of the country's coronavirus response. The Racing Post understands the NHA believes that will come in around three to four weeks' time, at which point they will request the sport's resumption again. This confusion meant Turffontein's three group 1 races, the Horse Chestnut Stakes and South African Derby and Oaks, were rescheduled from last Saturday to Sunday, May 10, but are now unlikely to go ahead unless there is a U-turn on resumption from the government. There are fears that the races may be taken off the 2020 calendar completely. Patrick Davis, racing executive, said: "We had provisionally rescheduled the SA Derby, SA Oaks and Horse Chestnut Stakes from 2 May to 10 May—but given the likely scenario that we're still not permitted to resume by then, further discussions within the industry will need to take place around the Pattern races this year. "We've already delayed the Pattern by a month in the hope that we might be able to resume within that time frame and run these important races in a constricted season, but it'll be back to the drawing board if we can't and it may well be that certain Pattern races will have to be canceled this year if they are unable to fit into a further constricted time period. It's a work in progress." On Monday the country's major racecourse group Phumelela revealed its losses for the six month period that ended January 31 increased to R115.1 million (£4.96 million), from R61.4 million (£2.64 million) at the same point last year. They may now file for voluntary liquidation. A statement from the group read: "At the date of this results announcement the prospects for horse-racing, other sports events and betting are uncertain and the board is in no position to provide reliable guidance. "The group is operating under onerous conditions, much of which is beyond its influence. Phumelela seeks further negotiations with the broader horse racing community to find a resolution to the dire situation in horse racing and agree commercially sustainable solutions. "The group remains engaged in discussions aimed at raising capital. Should these discussions not prove conclusive soon, the board will have to decide on whether there is any reasonable prospect that the Group's business can be rescued, or whether to make application for voluntary liquidation. "The board's current view is that even if financial relief can be obtained, a relief package should be negotiated as part of a business rescue plan. The board will make an announcement in this regard in the near future."
Freda Posted May 5, 2020 Share Posted May 5, 2020 Seems the slide from favour isn't confined to here then. No idea how well or otherwise this company is managed, however. Was reminded very recently that racing, in its infancy, was a rich man's hobby. The Sport of Kings - and the seriously wealthy. Still is ; the Arabs have stepped up and racing would be the poorer without them. Bottom line, you should never play with money you can't afford to lose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted May 5, 2020 Author Share Posted May 5, 2020 The big difference is Freda that their financials look better than ours in terms of ratios like debt to assets! They are an incorporated public listed company and have statutory reporting obligations. They produced a half yearly report for the half year to the end of January 2020 yesterday. PHUMELELA_int_jan20.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holy ravioli Posted May 5, 2020 Share Posted May 5, 2020 16 hours ago, Freda said: Seems the slide from favour isn't confined to here then. No idea how well or otherwise this company is managed, however. Was reminded very recently that racing, in its infancy, was a rich man's hobby. The Sport of Kings - and the seriously wealthy. Still is ; the Arabs have stepped up and racing would be the poorer without them. Bottom line, you should never play with money you can't afford to lose. the Arab influence is set to diminish in the medium to long term.The oil game is not what it used to be. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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