Nick Wilson

Property Correspondent

COLLIERS RMS is to sue a former CEO for R14m in lost fees it claims it would have earned had he not broken a restraint of trade agreement.

Colliers charges that former CEO and developer Jaco Odendaal competed against the company in a Western Cape shopping centre development, work on which had begun during Odendaal’s employment at Colliers.

The company has issued summons against Odendaal in the Cape High Court for lost fees relating to the R600m Cape Gate retail centre in Brackenfell.

Odendaal’s co-defendants are companies Cape Gate Properties, Cape Gate Lifestyle and Ernest Hartwig, who assembled the land on which the Cape Gate centre is being developed.

Colliers group financial director Bernard Kaiser said yesterday summons had been served, and the four defendants had until tomorrow to enter their pleas.

Odendaal was employed by Colliers from 1998 and was its MD and CEO from February 2001 until February 8 2002, when he resigned.

Until his resignation, Colliers had been involved in the Cape Gate development, and was set to manage the development and conduct lettings, said Kaiser.

He said that on February 11 2002 the company received a letter from Hartwig saying he would no longer be doing the project with Colliers.

Since his resignation, Odendaal has been involved in the team developing Cape Gate. He was not available for comment yesterday.