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Gulliver requires between $5 million and $6 million to clear its debts and about $2 million to $3 million to recapitalise its operations

Golden Sibanda Senior Business Reporter
Distressed engineering concern, Gulliver Consolidated Limited, requires nearly $10 million to clear its debts and recapitalise operations, the firm’s judicial manager Mr Reggie Saruchera said.
In an interview last week, Mr Saruchera said that between $5 million and $6 million was required to clear Gulliver’s debts while $2 million to $3 million was needed to recapitalise its operations.

The judicial manager said that two prospective investors; one local and the other foreign, have been shortlisted to acquire shareholding and inject much needed fresh capital into the company.

“We have shortlisted two investors and we are now having discussions with the two. One is foreign and the other is local,” he said.
Mr Saruchera said the investors were involved in a similar line of business as Gulliver and sought to exploit the potential synergies.

The engineering company can offer products and services ranging from the supply of all types of steel to fabrication of structural steel work trailers, tankers, railway rolling stock, pressure vessels, hot dip galvanising and transport among others.

The financially distressed company is pinning its hopes on the roll out of infrastructure projects under Government’s medium-term economic plan, Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-economic Transformation (Zim-Asset).

Mr Saruchera said Zim-Asset contained several projects under the infrastructure and utility cluster, which Gulliver sought to exploit. For instance, the company would target infrastructural projects to be undertaken at national airline, Air Zimbabwe as well as National Railways of Zimbabwe, as outlined in the Zim-Asset policy. Mr Saruchera said that as the economy takes off through implementation of the Zim-Asset projects, as one of the biggest players in its sector, if recapitalised, Gulliver was poised to benefit significantly.

A majority of the Zim-Asset infrastructure projects entails heavy engineering. However, a number of the projects under the blueprint have not taken off, largely due to funding constraints.

Gulliver urgently needs fresh capital to clear between $4 million and $5 million owed to creditors and employees.
Major creditors include ZB Bank, statutory institutions, workers and Agribank.

Its fortunes took a massive knock from the general economic meltdown pervading the entire Zimbabwe economy, which has resulted in a drastic fall in heavy engineering projects in the country.

In an attempt to address its mounting financial problems, the company resolved to cuts its monthly salary bill from $200 000-$20 000.
In 2012, the company posted income of $2,7 million, which was a reduction from $3,1 million achieved the previous year.