Online Reporter
Business Reporter
Tongaat Hulett’s business rescue practitioners have applied for the provisional liquidation of the South African sugar giant after a rescue deal collapsed, but stressed that operations in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana would continue unaffected.
The company, placed under business rescue in October 2022, saw its last hope of survival extinguish when Vision declined to grant an unconditional extension of lapsed sale agreements. The business rescue practitioners filed a liquidation application with the KwaZulu-Natal High Court on Thursday.
In a detailed statement, the practitioners said they had “exhausted all reasonable endeavours” to avoid the outcome but concluded there was “no longer a reasonable prospect of implementing the adopted business rescue plan or rescuing Tongaat as a going concern”.
However, the company moved to reassure stakeholders in its regional operations.
“It is important to note that this development relates to Tongaat Hulett Limited in South Africa,” the practitioners said. “It does not affect the ongoing operations of the company’s businesses in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, or Botswana, which continue to trade and operate in the ordinary course under their respective structures.”
The clarification will be watched closely in Zimbabwe, where Tongaat Hulett’s sugar operations are a significant employer and economic contributor. The company’s Hippo Valley and Triangle estates in the Lowveld are major producers and support thousands of workers and outgrowers.
