Spar CEO Brett Botten to step down at the end of January over fraudulent loans, and discriminated against black franchisors, had confirmed that the allegations were true

Spar CEO Brett Botten to step down at the end of January. 

His exit comes after a report by a Legal firm which was appointed to probe the matter that Spar reported fraudulent loans, and discriminated against black franchisors, had confirmed that the allegations were true.

The "fraudulent loans" and "racial bias" allegations also led to a wave of bad press. According to more than 10 black merchants, the retailer intended to utilise their Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) loans to bail out white merchants and then dump them.