The liquidation case against Tongaat Hulett to be heard in June, and the outcome might affect the livelihoods of thousands of small cane growers in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
Image: SA Canegrowers
Tongaat Hulett’s business rescue practitioners (BRPs) have successfully prevented the Vision Consortium from attempting to take over the sugar group’s Botswana business through a court process there.
The Vision Consortium, which won the bid to take over the beleaguered sugar group Tongaat Hulett, has been interdicted by the Botswana High Court from taking any steps to enforce a notarial bond over Tongaat Hulett Botswana’s assets, a bond that Vision had obtained without the BRP's being given a chance to present its case in court, the BRP's said in a statement Friday.
Operationally, Tongaat Hulett Botswana is understood to be involved in sugar distribution and regional supply, rather than milling (which is concentrated in South Africa and Mozambique). That makes the Botswana subsidiary strategically important for market access and cash flow, even if it doesn’t hold heavy fixed assets like mills or estates.
Tongaat Hulett’s business rescue practitioners (BRPs) said this latest ruling, made by the Botswana High Court on May 13, was made so a final determination of the BRPs', Tongaat's and Tongaat Hulett Botswana's entitlements to a final order could be made. The rescission application will be argued on June 22, 2026.
Both the BRPs and Vision claim to be working to save Tongaat Hulett, but the court actions in Botswana suggest there may be some love lost between the parties, or at least, disagreement on the best way forward for the group.
Tongaat Hulett faces further liquidation hearings in the Durban High Court on June 17 and 18, following a court application by the BRPs earlier this year, who claim the group cannot continue to operate beyond June 30, due to financial difficulties, after business rescue initiatives and proposals by the investor group, Vision, did not realise sufficient funding.
Other stakeholders in the group include the Industrial Development Corporation, which has provided R2,5 billion in funding for Tongaat to operate until June 30, and the government, which has suggested that it has its own rescue plan that may involve the thousands of small cane growers supplying the group, mainly in northern KwaZulu-Natal, who stand to lose their livelihoods if the group is liquidated.
The latest Botswana court decision comes after, on February 25 this year, a Vision company, Bowood and Main No 296, instituted proceedings and obtained an order issuing a general notarial bond over the assets of Tongaat Hulett Botswana, with particular reference to the shares of Tongaat held in THB, without the business rescue practitioners or the company being given a chance to present their case to the court.
On May 8, the BRPs applied to have the court order set aside or cancelled, and this court order was granted on May 13, “notwithstanding opposition by Bowood.”
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