The Supreme Court of Appeal has confirmed that the sugar giant cannot pause its industry obligations, adding financial pressure just as the Vision Group races to refinance IDC funding and close the deal.

While the massive sugar mills of KwaZulu-Natal continue to churn, the legal and financial scaffolding holding up Tongaat Hulett Limited (THL) has undergone a substantive change.

The company's business rescue process, which has meandered through boardrooms and courtrooms since late 2022, hit a legal ceiling in December 2025.

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Although the Vision Group has successfully settled the company's bank debts, a December ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has stripped the business rescue practitioners (BRPs) of their ability to suspend statutory industry payments.

The court found that these levies are requirements of law, not private contracts, meaning the shield used to protect the company's cash flow does not apply -- a liability the new owners must now factor into the final transfer.

The rescue is no longer searching for a solvent parent (that partner has been found in the Vision Group), but has morphed into a high-stakes compliance exercise. On 15 December 2025, the SCA dismissed THL's attempt to suspend payments to the South African Sugar Association (Sasa), ruling that the sugar industry agreement was not a private contract but subordinate legislation.

This means the practitioners, who had hoped to treat the industry debts as negotiable contractual obligations, have...