Tongaat Hulett appoints Gavin Dalgleish as CEO to support final phase of Business Rescue Transition

3 June 2025

Tongaat Hulett Limited is pleased to announce the appointment of Gavin Dalgleish as Chief Executive Officer, with effect from 1 June 2025. This appointment marks a significant step in the final phase of implementing the approved Business Rescue Plan and sets the stage for a seamless transition of Tongaat Hulett’s business, assets, and people to Vision, the consortium acquiring the group.

In accordance with section 140 of the Companies Act 71 of 2008, Gavin has been appointed by the Business Rescue Practitioners (BRPs) to the Company’s management team (not as a director) to assist in executing the Business Rescue Plan. His leadership will be critical in facilitating the complex transaction and ensuring continuity and stability as the group moves into its next chapter.

Gavin brings deep sector experience and a proven leadership record in the sugar industry, with particular strengths in the stabilisation, turnaround, and strategic diversification of sugar businesses. He was appointed as Group Chief Executive of the Vision Group in April 2025 and will resume that role once the asset transaction, which entails the sale of Tongaat’s business and assets as a going concern, in a consolidated group transaction, to Vision is concluded.

The implementation of the Business Rescue Plan is progressing well. Vision has now fully settled all outstanding obligations to the Lender Group as of 9 May 2025, and the finalisation of the asset transfer transaction is expected imminently. This development underscores Tongaat Hulett’s progress toward financial and operational recovery under the Vision-led restructuring process.

This leadership transition, together with the steady implementation of the Business Rescue Plan, reinforces the commitment to securing Tongaat Hulett’s long-term survival. The process is not only about restructuring a business, but also about preserving thousands of jobs, sustaining the livelihoods of farming communities, and protecting a company that remains a vital contributor to regional economies across Southern Africa.