By Everson Luhanga
- Business rescue says all efforts to save Tongaat Hulett have failed after funding agreements lapsed on 7 February 2026.
- Vision Group has sent Tongaat Hulett a demand of about R11.7-billion that the company says could push it into collapse.
For about 2,600 Tongaat Hulett workers in South Africa, news of the 134-year-old sugar producer applying for provisional liquidation is a threat to the income their families depend on.
The sugar industry supports 250,000 cane growing jobs. For many families already battling rising food and transport costs, the loss of steady work could mean even tougher months ahead.
Tongaat Hulett applied to the KwaZulu-Natal High Court for provisional liquidation after business rescue said they had exhausted all reasonable efforts to save the company. If the court grants the order, a provisional liquidator will take over and wind down the business.
The company entered business rescue in October 2022 after accounting irregularities and financial misstatements destroyed about R12-billion in shareholder value. It was left heavily in debt and struggling to access funding.
A rescue plan approved in January 2024 depended on the Vision Group consortium taking over key assets and refinancing R2.3-billion owed to the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).
The plan also required R517-million for an escrow account linked to the South African Sugar Association and R75-million for creditors.
Funding talks failed and the agreements lapsed on 7 February 2026. Tongaat has since received a demand from Vision for about R11.7-billion, which it says threatens its solvency.
Vision said the liquidation filing was disappointing and warned that the collapse of local operations would be disastrous for the regional economy.
Pictured above: Hulett’s sugar.
Image source: Hulett sugar
