King estate lures rich and famous bidders

ABOUT 200 bidders interested in buying controversial businessman Dave King's 158ha wine estate in the Western Cape will be treated to champagne, cocktails, canapés, caviar, oysters and stunning views of Simonsberg mountain.

The Sunday Times has established that bidders may include billionaire Johann Rupert and banking tycoons Paul Harris and GT Ferreira.

Quoin Rock Winery, an estate worth more than R120-million, was used by King as a private retreat before the taxman slapped him - along with the company he has links to - with a tax arrears bill of more than R2.8-billion.

The estate, on the slopes of Simonsberg in Stellenbosch, goes under the hammer on December 10. On the day, the property will boast a huge marquee, ice sculptures and a cello player.

The SA Revenue Service attached the winery in July, claiming it had not submitted returns since 2002 and owed more than R47.3-million in outstanding taxes.

A court order for the provisional winding-up of the winery was granted on July 1 and liquidators instructed Auction Alliance to sell the sprawling property and its contents.

The estate is a former sheep, cattle and fruit farm but today boasts 23ha planted with chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, merlot, pinot noir and pinotage grapes.

Rael Levitt, chief executive of Auction Alliance, said bidders would include some of the wealthiest executives and entrepreneurs in the country. Others will jet in from Singapore, London, Germany, the US and Australia.

"The property befits a billionaire's choice of location and has been developed to a level where it seems that no expense was spared," said Levitt.

The Cape Dutch homestead, built by King after he acquired the property in 1998, features five suites around a large central courtyard.

Other assets include chandeliers, Victorian baths, an extensive collection of late 18th-century furniture, and artworks.

The estate has a helipad, an underground cave for business and social gatherings and four private guest cottages.

King has been locked in a legal wrangle with SARS since 2001 when tax officials questioned why he had declared an average income of R800000 a year for the previous 11 years. Following a two-year audit, SARS accused him of owing R900-million.

King said nearly everything he had was owned by a company called Ben Nevis, registered in the Channel Islands. King maintained that he could not be taxed on assets he did not own.

Ben Nevis, owned by Glencoe Trust of which King is a beneficiary, was hit with a tax arrears bill of more than R1.9-billion.