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I don’t know why anytime I visit the iconic Maryland Mall something happens

The last time, I went there one journey- man journalist took the place to the cleaners lamenting about its unkempt nature and epileptic service

I didn’t even know that the place was under receivership management until that report came out.

Under this management, the new managers had shut down its main cash earner – the large LED Board which is reputed to be one of the largest on the continent, stopped collecting tolls for the car park another huge revenue earner and generally just let the place go

One wondered why this would be the case, since the objective of the receivership was to run the place to reduce liability and eventually take out liability totally

Well today, we now know the reason.

An obscure full-page advert was sighted during the week in a National Business Paper asking for buyers.

The advert was not coy about its intent. It labelled the mall as iconic and showed us a picture of the LED Board claimed that 1,000 eyeballs could see it in seconds

It asked for serious bidders after which they would send an info memorandum with all information after which the preferred bidder would be selected and the transaction would be completed

They cited as sales points – prime location, diversified customer mix, strong footfall and capable management

One would however wish that life was this simple.

It is not.

My independent investigations have thrown up some interesting facts

The original owners, Purple, like most businesses at that time, ran into a serious forex turbulence

The Naira’s weakening that followed the abrupt withdrawal of subsidy threw into the mud their repayment plan to their South African shylocks

Meeting the periodic forex repayments from Naira earnings became very herculean, eventually leading to the receiver management arrangement

From my early economics class at the defunct Federal School of Art and Science where I failed, I was told that the receiver managers’ first task was to run the place to take out their liabilities and in most cases hand back once that has been achieved.

It appears these south Africans didnt take classes at Federal School of Art and science and have opted at a full sale after muting revenue taps

Let me tell you guys what I have found out

Purple’s exposure to their apartheid counterparts sits at about $12m san a submitted return of about $7m.