Tongaat Hulett’s (THL) business rescue has reached a pivotal point after the sugar and property group’s new investors, The Vision Parties headed by businessman Robert Gumede, confirmed to the Business Rescue Practitioners (BRPs) that they have secured credit approval to meet the balance of their payment obligations owed to lenders.

This means that the Vision Parties will be able to complete their acquisition of the claims held by the consortium of lenders, which comprise mainly South African banks and which had provided funding to the group prior to it entering business rescue.

The due date of the payment to the lenders had been March 31, 2025, but the Vision Parties had informed the BRPs that they had requested, and obtained, the Lender Group's consent to extend the date for payment of the balance of the final purchase consideration to the end of this month.

“This extension is required to enable the necessary agreements that will govern the credit approval to be drafted and executed,” a statement from THL said.

“Vision's outstanding payment obligation to the Lender Group will be discharged through the aforementioned credit facility,” THL said Wednesday. Previous reports show that when THL entered business rescue in October 2022, the Lender Group was owed about R6.9 billion.

“The credit approval that has been obtained by the Vision Parties further demonstrates the veracity of both the Lender Group and Vision Parties' prior assertions, that the Vision Parties were able to fulfil all of their payment obligations to the Lender Group in terms of the Vision Business Rescue Plan,” the statement said.

“This marks a pivotal milestone in the successful implementation of the Plan and again fortifies the BRP’s belief that the Plan remains capable of implementation,” the group said.

THL said they and the BRPs recognise “this journey has been arduous for all involved," and that the rescue of THL had, in part, been complicated by a number of "ill-founded court proceedings brought by minor creditors who have sought to stifle the successful implementation of the plan.”

“Since the approval of the Plan, all of the applications that have been argued in the High Court have been dismissed with costs being awarded in THL and the BRPs' favour,” THL said. Successful implementation of the Plan would represent a new chapter for the business, which has an extensive economic footprint in KwaZulu-Natal, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Botswana.

“THL's continued survival is critical for the regional and national economies given that in KwaZulu-Natal alone the business employs 2 600 people, supports 25 500 jobs in surrounding rural communities, and sources sugar from 15 000 small-scale growers.

THL said last month it was prepared for the upcoming 2025/26 sugar season, with all operations set to open and run smoothly as scheduled this month and early May.

Off-season maintenance and investment to the value of R460 million was undertaken over the past few months across the company’s Maidstone, Amatikulu, and Felixton mills along with its central refinery in Durban and the Voermol animal feeds facility.

As a result, the company would be ready to welcome sugar cane deliveries from growers, ensuring a strong start to the season, the group said.

Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) post-commencement financing had helped to ensure that off-crop maintenance on the mills and refinery could continue over the past three financial years. This saw THL allocating a total of R1.43bn to strengthen its infrastructure, ensuring reliability and efficiency in production.

BUSINESS REPORT