Few corporate line items sound as unlikely as a nine-figure charge over ribs, but that is what Spur has just handed its shareholders. The restaurant group behind Panarottis and Hussar Grill told the market it has set aside a once-off provision of R129.5 million after an arbitrator ruled against it in a long-running dispute with a food manufacturer, GPS Food Group.
How a ribs deal ended in court
The row dates back to 2019, when GPS sued Spur, alleging the two sides had struck a spoken agreement to build and run a rib-processing facility — a deal Spur insists never existed. The matter went to arbitration in October 2023; a part-award favoured GPS last year, and on 3 August 2026 the arbitrator put a number on it: R74.6 million in damages, plus interest at 10% dating back to the original summons, which lifts the total to R129.5 million. The original claim was bigger and messier than the final figure: GPS's main damages claim ranged from R119.9 million to R167 million, alongside an alternative claim of R95.8 million that the arbitrator dismissed.
The hit — and the escape hatch
On paper the blow is heavy. Spur's headline earnings per share — the cleaned-up profit figure JSE-listed companies must report — are guided to fall 34% to 43% for the year to June. Strip out the one-off charge, though, and earnings would actually have risen 5% to 13%. Spur is not treating the number as final: it is appealing the award in full before a panel of three arbitrators in February 2027, and says its senior counsel expects to win — which could reverse the provision entirely.
Spur is careful to note that an appeal award would be final and binding, with no further right of appeal either way. For now the company sounds unbothered about the cash, saying five years of strong trading leave it enough to cover the charge without touching its liquidity or its dividends. Investors barely blinked: the shares were flat on the Friday, and are still up about 24% over the past year. The cleaner read on how the business actually traded lands with full-year results on 20 August.
