Taste Holdings, which runs the Starbucks coffee shop and Domino’s Pizza outlets, has again asked its shareholders to provide it with funding despite them already giving it R1.06bn through several rights issues. A difficult economy, along with long-standing operational problems at its food division, has seen the fast food and jewellery retailer haemorrhaging cash. This could be seen in fast food and takeaway sales falling 0.3% month-on-month in October, and its centralised buying subsidiary, Buon Gusto, incurring an operating loss of R87m, for the half year to end-August. The troubled group now wants to raise a further R132m in funding in spite of it previously raising R398m from them earlier in 2018. The terms of its latest rights offer, however, were disadvantageous to its minority shareholders. If accepted, it would see their holdings diluted as a result of the group’s share capital doubling from 2-billion to 4-billion. Their holdings would also lose value because the offer of 10c...

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