With operations in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana, Tongaat Hulett stands out as one of the bigger economically sustainable agribusinesses within the Southern African Development Community (Sadc). It employs about 40,000 people and works with 250,000 small-scale cane growers. The company also plays an important role in food security and sovereignty, employment and social upliftment in rural economies throughout the Sadc region.
The challenges are real, but we have great confidence that we can quickly and successfully drive the required turnaround. This confidence stems from having the right ownership, the right people and the right plan.
Vision Sugar steps in not just as a new owner, but as a long-term partner in Tongaat Hulett’s recovery and renewal, bringing an optimal combination of local insights and leading-edge, global agri-processing expertise.
The Vision consortium is led by South African businessman Robert Gumede, who heads the Guma Group; Zimbabwean businessman Rutenhuro Moyo, who heads investment company Remoggo; and international partners Amre Youness, who heads Terris AgriPro, and Nauman Khan, who heads Almoiz Industries.
Each member contributes a distinct set of skills — from local stakeholder management, distressed asset turnaround and financial engineering, to sugar production and regional operations management and business strategy.
Almoiz Industries — one of Pakistan’s largest sugar producers — brings deep, world-class operational knowledge in sugar, ethanol and biomass energy. Terris AgriPro adds valuable expertise in restructuring, liquidity restoration and performance management. Remoggo brings transaction management skills and a wealth of local operational experience from running Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, as well as logistics, agriculture and retail businesses in the Sadc region.
Guma brings hands-on entrepreneurial and business acumen, with deep domain knowledge of building and growing businesses in Sadc countries. Together, they provide the capabilities necessary to support the turnaround and support our diversification plans over the longer term.
Vision Sugar is a deeply invested stakeholder with a track record of operating in and with African markets. We understand the regulatory, commercial, operating and social landscapes within which Tongaat Hulett’s operations must succeed — and we are committed to doing so in partnership with local stakeholders, including regulators.
When Vision Sugar conducted its extensive due diligence across all four countries, what we found was not a broken business but one with enduring strengths — including dedicated people, world-class land parcels and infrastructure, and deeply rooted relationships with growers, communities and local partners. We were especially impressed with the resilience of the Tongaat Hulett people. Our priority is to support them by stabilising operations and unlocking long-term value through investment, inclusion and operational excellence.
The priority in terms of our five-year plan is stabilising the business while laying the groundwork for future growth. Our first tasks are to restore liquidity, rebuild operational efficiency, and re-engage stakeholders, including the South African Sugar Association and regional grower networks. Our goal is to modernise infrastructure; expand product lines, where this makes sense; and create long-term shared value with all stakeholders.
In the coming weeks and months, we will begin to share more details of our plan. Contrary to recent speculation, Vision Sugar does not plan to break up or sell off Tongaat Hulett’s assets. We believe that with the right support and strategy, Tongaat Hulett can be restored to profitability and transformed into a globally competitive enterprise.
Now that Vision has completed the acquisition of the lender group’s claims, we are proceeding with closing the sale of business agreements that transfers ownership of all operating assets to us. We have received the necessary Competition Commission approvals across all operating jurisdictions, and are moving with urgency to restore Tongaat Hulett to its place as a Sadc agribusiness powerhouse — fully capable of protecting jobs, paying farmers, supporting rural communities and competing in the marketplace. We are grateful to the IDC, the lenders, and regulators in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Mozambique who supported us and helped preserve livelihoods for employees, small-scale cane growers and stakeholders and suppliers across the sugar value chain.
Southern Africa needs the Tongaat Hulett turnaround — and Vision Sugar is ready to deliver.
• Dalgleish is the newly appointed group CEO for Vision Sugar
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