BULAWAYO — One of Bulawayo’s iconic firms, Willsgrove Ware Pottery, voluntarily opted for judicial management after an unmanned creditor obtained a writ order to auction the company’s machinery and equipment.
Formed in 1965, Willsgrove was the largest tableware in Zimbabwe and the second largest in sub-Saharan Africa after merging with its competitor, Norbel Pottery in 1990.
At its height, it was supplying the hotel and catering industries locally, in the regional and international markets.
The company, through court papers lodged at the Bulawayo High Court said judicial management was the only option as allowing the creditor to auction its equipment would effectively destroy the company.
“Disposal of the equipment essentially destroys the entire business. Not only that, the attachment and disposal means that there is no hope for the employees, creditors some of which are statutory creditors,” Bekhithemba Nkomo one of the major shareholders of the company said in court papers.
He added that shareholders were hoping that judicial management will allow the company to get out of its challenges and come back to its feet.
A number of Bulawayo companies have opted for judicial management to escape mounting debts and creditors’ demands for repayments.
Last week, Industry and Commerce deputy minister Chiratidzo Mabuwa said 60% of Bulawayo’s companies were under judicial management, making it difficult for the companies to operate independently, as they lost overall control.
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Some companies were owned by families and it were difficult to operate while others refused to work with the government to create clusters, she added. — The Source
