Food Lover’s Market franchise faces Boksburg power dispute

A Food Lover’s Market franchise in Boksburg is facing allegations over its electricity installation and metering arrangements after its landlord commissioned a technical investigation. The outlet’s operator says it has not independently verified the findings and has called for a comprehensive investigation, while the national business has stressed that the allegations concern an individual franchise.

Landlord questions electricity connections

According to BusinessTech’s report of 26 October, the dispute concerns the Food Lover’s Market outlet at Northrand Square. Its landlord, Summit Property Company, commissioned a technical report examining the store’s electrical installation and how its electricity consumption was being measured.

The report identified what it described as potentially non-compliant electrical connections, concerns about cable routing and operational risks. Summit’s senior counsel, Ian Small-Smith, has written several letters of complaint to the store’s owner, FLM Retailers North Rand (Pty) Ltd, about the alleged connection and metering issues.

A central finding concerns four cables supplying the store. According to the technical report, three were supplied from a breaker in the mini-substation, while a fourth was connected directly to the mini-substation’s busbars without a breaker installed inside the substation.

The report alleged that this fourth cable was unmetered and that its electricity use was not captured by the store’s billing meter. It also warned that interference with electrical cables could present safety risks, including electric shock.

Small-Smith said calculations were being conducted to establish the amount of excess electricity costs the landlord may have covered. The account did not establish a final amount payable by the outlet.

Store operator seeks independent investigation

The franchise operator has challenged whether the allegations have been independently verified. George Lambrakis, operational director of the Boksburg store, told the Mail & Guardian that the company had not yet had an opportunity to independently verify the technical findings, including the allegation that a fourth cable bypassed the sub-meter.

“Food Lover’s Market welcomes a comprehensive, independent investigation into the entire electrical installation, historical alterations, metering arrangements and electricity billing,” Lambrakis said, as quoted by BusinessTech.

“Should any genuine discrepancy be established, we remain committed to resolving it fairly and transparently,” he added.

That response is important to the status of the dispute. The landlord-commissioned report contains technical allegations, but the operator’s statement does not accept that an irregularity has been established. Nor does its commitment to resolve any genuine discrepancy amount to an admission of wrongdoing.

The proposed scope of an independent investigation is also broader than the disputed cable alone: it includes historical alterations, the full installation and billing arrangements. These are matters the operator wants examined rather than findings that can presently be treated as settled.

National brand distinguishes outlet from group

Food Lover’s Market’s national spokesperson, Jean Harkett, said the national business was unaware of the allegations regarding the store’s electrical installation and was therefore unable to comment on the technical findings.

She stressed that the allegations related to an individual franchise outlet and could not be used to establish wrongdoing by the wider Food Lover’s Market Group.

That distinction matters when reporting a dispute involving a recognised retail brand. The complaints described in the report were directed at the owner of the Northrand Square store. They should not be presented as findings about other outlets or the national business.

Food Lover’s Market has a longstanding franchise presence in South Africa. Its first franchise opened in Port Elizabeth in 1995, following the business’s beginnings as a fresh-produce retailer in Cape Town.

Practical lessons for franchise operators

For South Africa’s franchise community, the case puts electricity metering, premises documentation and the handling of contested technical findings in focus. It remains a dispute involving allegations and a request for independent verification, not an established finding of electricity theft.

Operators reviewing their own premises should consider whether installation records, meter information and billing arrangements are readily available, and seek qualified technical advice where discrepancies arise. Landlords and franchisees should distinguish documented findings from questions still requiring investigation.

Practical takeaway: Keep electricity and premises records accessible, investigate unexplained billing differences through qualified professionals, and avoid treating disputed technical allegations as proven facts.