Gavin Hudson resigns as Tongaat Hulett CEO

Tongaat Hulett CEO Gavin Hudson who was brought in to lead the turnaround of the scandal-hit and debt-laden sugar and property group four-years ago has resigned, the company confirmed in a JSE announcement on Monday.

The embattled KZN-based group is in the midst of a business rescue process, after being hit by multiple economic blows over the past few years, including an accounting scandal that rocked the group in 2019 which implicated former executives.

“In accordance with… JSE Limited Listings Requirements, the board of directors of the Company [board] hereby notifies shareholders that Tongaat Hulett’s Chief Executive Officer, Gavin Hudson, has tendered his resignation with effect from 28 February 2023,” the Sens announcement notes.

“The company’s core team of executives will continue to work with the BRP [Business Rescue Practitioners],” says Tongaat Hulett.

“Hudson spearheaded efforts to recover the group four years ago following the discovery of accounting irregularities in 2019. This involved reducing the group’s debt burden by R6.5 billion and turning around governance and operational processes,” it pointed out.

“Unfortunately, these turnaround efforts were hampered by Covid-19, civil unrest and floods in KwaZulu-Natal and the company commenced business rescue proceedings in October 2022.”

“The BRPs and remaining board members thank Hudson for his contribution and wish him well,” added Tongaat Hulett.

Further BRP extension

Meanwhile, in the same Sens announcement, the group revealed yet another extension to the deadline for its Business Rescue Plan to be published.

In a Sens on 15 November 2022, it advised that the date for the publication of the plan would be on 31 January 2023. However, this has now been extended to the end of February.

“The joint BRPs requested approval from creditors for an extension of the date for the publication of the Plan to 28 February 2023, in accordance with section 150[5] of the Companies Act 71 of 2008, as amended… Shareholders are hereby notified that the requisite holders of a majority of the creditors’ voting interests have agreed to the requested extension,” it noted in its latest stock exchange filing.

“Therefore, the Plan for the company will be published on or before 28 February 2023,” the group added.

It highlighted that a notice in terms of section 150(5) of the Act was published by the company on 27 January 2023 and is available for shareholders to view on the company’s website, under the ‘Business Rescue’ tab.