Flea-market operator Global Village Holdings' (Glovil's) results forthe year to February were knocked by what it called a "few unusual expenses".

One of these expenses was the first payment of the R5,9m buyout of the24,9% holding owned by a consortium led by Glovil's co-founder, Gary Israelsohn.

The payout put to an end the long-running dispute between Gary and brotherMarc over the business they began together.

While revenue showed a small increase from R35,1m to R36,9m, operatingprofit dropped from R2,5m to R1,3m. Net profit fell to R588 000 from R1,2m.

Two new Glovil projects failed . The Emporium at Tygervalley shoppingcentre in Bellville was closed at a cost of R1,9m. And the planned Fourwaysflea market , modelled on Glovil's Bruma market, fell through because thecorrect property zoning was not obtained soon enough. But the company plansto open a market at another Fourways site .

Glovil spent R750 000 on its failed bid to manage the Cape Town FreshProduce Market. The company also wrote off R620 000 in bad debt relatingto two of its traders, and legal actions against three other traders incurredR250 000 in legal costs.

But there was also some good news . Attendance at the Bruma flea marketincreased 20% after Glovil opened its entertainment complex for children,Kids World.

Glovil also launched its Fashion Fair magazine at a cost of R650 000,and planned to mount an International Fashion Sale expo in Cape Town, similarto its annual Johannesburg expo .

Glovil shares closed unchanged at 8c, with no trade taking place onthe JSE Securities Exchange SA on Friday.

Business Day