Woolworths Holdings, the South African retail group, has secured an urgent High Court order allowing it to sell liquor at its WCellar store in Johannesburg’s Dainfern Square Shopping Centre while challenging a decision that its liquor licence application had lapsed.

Acting Deputy Judge President T P Mudau granted the interim order on October 5, allowing the retailer to trade at the premises as if its liquor store licence had been lawfully granted, subject to applicable regulatory requirements.

Court ruling clears way for liquor sales

The ruling follows a dispute with the Gauteng Provincial Liquor Board, which informed Woolworths on August 19 that its application had lapsed under section 35(5) of the Gauteng Liquor Act, requiring the retailer to submit a fresh application.

Woolworths applied for the licence in June 2022 and received conditional approval in October that year. However, delays involving lease negotiations, vacant possession and the shopping centre’s redesign postponed construction until March 2026.

After the premises reached substantial completion in July, Woolworths submitted photographs on July 28 and requested a final inspection. The board’s administrative staff refused to accept the documents.

Court ruling upholds Woolworths’ original liquor application

Mudau found that Woolworths had established a strong prima facie right to have its original application lawfully finalised. The judge held that the statutory 12-month limit was the maximum period the board could prescribe, rather than an automatic deadline where the approval notice specified no timeframe.

The court also found that even if the conditional approval had lapsed, the board could still consider the original application instead of automatically requiring a new one.

The judgment which grants interim trading authority to Woolworths comes shortly after Sam Ngumeni resumed as Group CEO on June 1, 2026. Bagattini, who joined the Cape Town-based retailer in 2020, oversaw a period of strategic repositioning focused on strengthening the balance sheet and sharpening the group’s focus on high-return businesses.

Woolworths cites R3.56 million investment

Woolworths told the court it had invested approximately R3.56 million ($215,315) in capital expenditure at the store and employed five dedicated staff members, with monthly payroll commitments of R31,282 ($1,892). The retailer projected annual gross turnover of R10.4 million ($628,976), or about R200,000 ($12,095) in weekly sales.

The judge said further delays risked permanently lost revenue, diverted customers and damage to commercial goodwill. The board’s approximately 2,400 pending applications and estimated processing times of six months to two years or longer also made a fresh application an inadequate alternative.

The court ordered the liquor board to pay Woolworths’ legal costs for the urgent proceedings on an attorney-and-client scale. The interim order does not finally grant a liquor licence or determine the merits of Woolworths’ review, which will be heard in the ordinary course. The retailer must continue complying with applicable trading hours, restrictions on sales to minors and other regulatory requirements.