Heineken Beverages International has asked the Gauteng high court in Johannesburg to order businessman Peter Matsimbe to pay R42.8 million. The company says the money is owed for liquor and drinks it supplied to his business.
According to the claim, the products were delivered between 4 September 2023 and 2 April 2024. Heineken says 53 invoices were issued and none of them were paid in time.
“Despite the lapse of 90 days from date of invoice, the last of which was dated April 9 2024, the principal debtor has failed to pay Heineken Beverages International the amount of R42,867,341.10, or any portion thereof, despite written demand,” the claim states, as reported by the Sunday Times.
The company wants the court to order Matsimbe to pay the full amount plus interest. It also wants him to cover legal costs on an attorney-and-client scale, including the costs of two counsel.
Heineken says Matsimbe himself must pay because of a suretyship it says he signed in September 2022. A suretyship is a written promise to pay a business debt if the business does not.
“On or about 15 September 2022 … Peter Matsimbe bound himself in writing as surety for the due fulfilment of his obligations by the principal debtor to Distell,” the claim says.
At that time, the business dealt with Distell, not Heineken. The claim says the first supply deal was signed around 14 March 2022. It was between Distell and United Brands Beverages, trading as UBB, which Matsimbe represented.
That deal covered the supply and sale of liquor and natural drinks. It also set out rules on credit, payments, interest and legal costs.
Heineken says the suretyship made Matsimbe liable as surety and co-principal debtor. It says he also gave up certain legal defences he could have used to fight the debt. The guarantee was to stay in force until Distell agreed in writing to cancel it.
The claim explains how the contracts moved to Heineken. On 29 August 2023, Distell and Heineken Beverages South Africa signed a distribution agreement. The supply deal and the suretyship moved to Heineken Beverages South Africa in September 2023.
On the same day in August, Heineken Beverages South Africa also sold its export business to Heineken Beverages International. The supply deal and suretyship were then passed on to Heineken Beverages International around 4 September 2023.
A second supply agreement was later signed between Heineken Beverages International and Matsimbe’s business. “Heineken Beverages International duly complied with its obligations in terms of the second supply agreement,” the company said in its papers.
The court papers say Matsimbe was a director of the business until about 1 February 2024. His wife became a director after that, according to a company search included in the papers.
Heineken also argues that the National Credit Act does not apply. It says the business is a juristic person with yearly turnover above R1 million.
Matsimbe, who is married to television personality Ayanda Thabethe, has faced other money disputes before. He was in a separate fight with businessman Jacobus Jansen over an alleged R22 million debt.
In August 2022, the Gauteng high court confirmed an order freezing assets linked to that case. The court found that Matsimbe had not properly explained why certain assets were disposed of.
None of Heineken’s claims have been proven in court. The Sunday Times said it asked Heineken’s lawyers for comment, and that Matsimbe’s response was not available at the time of writing.
Source: this article is based on reporting by TimesLIVE. Image: TimesLIVE. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Business desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Anelisa Nkuna covers business and money news for Tzaneen Voice. Anelisa reports on the rand, fuel prices, interest rates, jobs, Eskom, Transnet, farming and company results. The aim is simple: explain what the numbers mean for household budgets, small businesses and workers in South Africa.