Billionaire Wendy Appelbaum is lodging a formal complaint against top auctioneer Rael Levitt at the National Consumer Commission as the fight over a prime Cape wine estate turns nasty.

Appelbaum bid R55-million for Dave King’s 194-hectare Quoin Rock estate outside Stellenbosch last month.

She said: “Our attorneys have formulat[ed] our response and we have reported the matter to the National Consumer Commission.” She sent the complaint on Friday, citing concerns over the way the auction was conducted – featuring an anonymous rival bidder.

The glitzy event attracted some of the country’s richest tycoons, including Randgold CEO Marais Steyn, Dimension Data CEO Allan Cawood and Shoprite Checkers CEO Whitey Basson.