The merger between golf estate and leisure property groups Pinnacle Point and Acc-Ross was a recipe for disaster, Pinnacle Point minority shareholder Sybrand van der Spuy told an ongoing commission of inquiry.

Mr van der Spuy is the owner of Cape Point Vineyards, which owns 1% of Pinnacle Point.

The inquiry into the affairs of Pinnacle Point Group, a JSE-listed property developer that was placed in final liquidation late last year, began yesterday with Mr van der Spuy’s testimony. Former directors and shareholders have been subpoenaed to appear in the first round of the inquiry, led by retired judge Meyer Joffe.

Pinnacle Point and Acc-Ross announced their merger in 2008, which provided the golf estate developer with a significant black economic empowerment partner, since 26% of Pinnacle Point was held by black empowerment company Unipalm Investment.

"There was no chance that it (the merger) would survive... the investment public were bystanders… these two groupings of con artists (Pinnacle Point and Acc-Ross) got together and this bubble was created," Mr van der Spuy told the commission.

Investec is a major creditor of the subsidiaries. The private bank applied for the liquidation of the subsidiaries to recover money owed to it. Investec said the group owed it R120m.

The Pinnacle Point Group debacle also saw workers aligned with the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union losing money. They had invested R260m in pension money to buy shares in Pinnacle Point Group.

The value of the shares have diminished significantly.

General secretary Andre Kriel said last week the union had asked its lawyers to monitor the proceedings closely.