SA’s property giants are breathing a huge sigh of relief over the bailout of SA’s largest clothing retailer, Edcon.Two weeks ago, Edcon’s creditors agreed to swap R20bn of debt they were owed into equity.Marc Wainer, chairman of JSE-listed Redefine Properties, told the Financial Mail he immediately fired off an e-mail to Edcon CEO Bernie Brookes to congratulate him."It’s a relief. According to [Brookes], over the past six to eight months they came so, so close to business rescue a number of times. They really had their problems. Besides trying to restructure their debt, some creditors stopped supplying them and others applied very strict credit limits. Every week they would have to allocate their available cash in the bank with creditors due and decide who would be paid," Wainer says.Landlords were just as uncomfortable, as Edcon was given extra leeway to pay rent — being allowed to pay on the 15th rather than the first of every month — and, even then, it was paying late.Edcon’s sto...
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