A CATERING and recreation company has sued Evelyn Hone College in the Lusaka High Court, demanding damages for breach of contract and inconvenience.

Kalayim Investment Limited which was a tenant at the institution is further demanding over K800,000 for the renovations and improvements it made to the business premises, among others.

In a statement of claim filed in the Lusaka High Court, Tuesday, Kalayim Investment explained that on December 5, 2016, it entered and signed a tenancy agreement with Evelyn Hone College as Landlord and Tenant which was renewed in 2018, under the same terms and conditions.

It stated that it was agreed in the said tenancy agreement under clause 3 that the College was to use the expertise of the plaintiff to run the student’s canteen and recreation center.

Kalayim Investment further stated that it was in operation for some years from the time it signed the agreement without interference until March 2020 when it received a notice from the landlord (Evelyn Hone College) that the tenancy agreement would not be renewed after December, 2020.

It stated that on August 14, this year, the College wrote a letter terminating the tenancy agreement between the two parties on the pretext that on August 11, 2020, the institution discovered that the tenant (Kalayim Investment) had been involved in unauthorized production of alcohol on the premises.

“The letter also requested that the plaintiff vacates the premises by August 21, 2020,” read the claim.

The company stated that the letter of termination was delivered to them on August 18, 2020 and that they were given two days in which to cease operations and vacate the premises as opposed to the one month notice stipulated under clause 7 of the tenancy agreement.

Kalayim Investment stated that it wrote back to the College on August 20, 2020 seeking a reasonable time in which to cease their operations and vacate the premises.

It added that during the subsistence of the tenancy agreement, they renovated and made improvements to the premises amounting to K851,747.79.

The company stated that the tenancy agreement under clause 7 provided that in the event the agreement was terminated or not renewed both parties ought to reimburse each other for any renovations and improvements made to the demised premises.