Concor enters business rescue

Concor, which is now 100% owned by the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) and the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), is in financial distress and has entered into voluntary business rescue proceedings.

One of the group’s biggest infrastructure contracts is as a joint-venture (JV) partner on the Eastern Cape’s iconic Msikaba bridge, which is part of Sanral’s multi-billion-rand N2 Wild Coast Toll Road development.

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Although Concor CEO Marius Koen stated in a sworn statement in support of the company’s business rescue that Concor “has 0 employees”, it is reliably believed the company’s financial distress places the employment of more than 2 200 people in jeopardy.

Of those, about 600 are believed to be permanent head office employees and 1 500 fixed-term contractors.

Koen further disclosed in the statement that Concor has contingent liabilities related to current projects exceeding R1.6 billion.

Estimated creditors of R190 million, comprising mainly loan funding provided by the shareholders;

Default notices issued in relation to these loan facilities;

Inter-company payables of R34 million as per Concor’s draft annual financial statements for its 2026 financial year; and

Contingent liabilities arising from litigation, estimated at R218 million, including contingent liabilities related to OptiPower and Murray & Roberts (M&R).

The OptiPower and M&R contingent liabilities follow an unsuccessful high court application by Concor in May 2025 to stop demands being made on its guarantees for the Wolf Wind Farm project in the Eastern Cape, which it was developing in a JV with M&R’s OptiPower division.

M&R’s business rescue plan published in March 2025 said Concor had a R469.8 million disputed claim against OptiPower related to damages and various costs on the Wolf Wind Farm project.

The status of this disputed claim is not known.

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Koen said Concor’s cash and cash equivalents amount to only R4 000 and the company’s trade and other receivables amount to R11 000.

Its investments in subsidiaries and inter-company receivables total R811 million and the total amount due from subsidiaries is R25 million.

“The final asset and liability position of the company, including the amount owing to its creditors and the extent of its contingent liabilities, will be determined once the outstanding financial information has been obtained and verified ,” he said.

The voluntary business rescue proceedings relate to Concor Holdings, Concor (Pty) Ltd, Concor Construction and Concor Mining.

Koen said the GEPF owns 81.25% of Concor’s shareholding and the UIF 18.75%.

The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) managers the assets of the GEPF and UIF.

Approached for comment by Moneyweb, the PIC said the Concor board determined that the business was financially distressed and informed the PIC on 6 October 2026 that it had filed for business rescue.

The PIC said it has since had several engagements with the joint business rescue practitioners (BRPs) and will work with the BRPs to protect the value of client investments and explore options to sustain Concor’s operations and protect jobs.

It added that it has, over several years, supported various restructuring initiatives to stabilise Concor and promote its long-term stability, including recapitalising the company.

The PIC said Concor in 2022 defaulted on its loan obligations to the GEPF, which is the PIC’s largest client.

The Southern Palace Group, then the majority shareholder and part of the original Concor group structure, also entered business rescue.

“Although enforcement and formal business rescue were considered at the time, the PIC and its clients supported a consensual turnaround,” it said.

“A controlled restructuring was considered to be a better option to preserve value, employment and project continuity than immediate insolvency.”

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The PIC said the corporation provided bridge funding and supported the Concor board strategy to improve corporate governance and operational reform while also supporting the appointment of Deloitte as an independent chief restructuring officer.

The PIC said about R1.18 billion of shareholder debt was converted into preference equity in May 2025, resulting in the GEPF and the UIF becoming Concor’s effective shareholders and regularising the ownership structure.

It added that Concor’s financial position and operating environment remained under significant pressure as a result of material liquidity and working-capital constraints and the effect of underperforming legacy projects.

It said substantial contingent liabilities arose from distressed historic projects, including guarantee payments that became due after M&R, Concor’s JV partner, entered business rescue at the end of 2024.

The PIC said this limited Concor’s ability to operate independently without external capital support and its ability to access guarantees and convert its project pipeline into executable, cash-generating work.

“The PIC is very mindful of the serious implications of business rescue proceedings for Concor’s employees, suppliers, subcontractors and active projects,” it added.

“The PIC will continue to work with the joint business rescue practitioners … to assess the financial, legal and operational implications for the investments of its clients, including the funding requirements of the business, the prospects for a sustainable rescue and the measures available to protect and preserve value and jobs.

“The PIC remains committed to supporting a value-preserving and sustainable outcome. Any further intervention must be considered within applicable client mandates, governance processes, verified funding requirements, appropriate safeguards and a credible prospect of a successful business rescue process.”

The Concor form giving notice of the commencement of its business rescue proceedings was filed with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) on 6 October 2026, with Concor’s board nominating Nndingeni Moses Sigo of Genesis Corporate Solutions and Paula Anna-Mart Müller of ProCorp Solutions as the joint BRPs.

The first meeting of creditors took place on 20 October 2026.

Master Builders South Africa (MBSA) executive director Roy Mnisi said large companies need a lot of work to sustain themselves because of their high overheads.

He said it is possible that Concor’s financial difficulties arose because of insufficient construction work in the country.

“In as much as here and there you see some pockets of improvement, our sector is still struggling insofar as work opportunities are concerned.

“There are strategic projects that have been gazetted for quite some time now. If we [government] were able to implement 50% of them, we should be able to sustain these companies and the contractor sector business, or even build it,” he added.

Concor, in a JV with Mota-Engil Construction South Africa (Mecsa), was awarded the R1.65 billion Msikaba mega bridge project that forms part of the broader N2 Wild Coast Toll Road development.

There have been delays to the completion of this project.

The South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) has not yet responded to a request for comment on contracts it has awarded to Concor.

Several other major construction companies have experienced financial difficulties in recent years.

Group Five was placed in business rescue in 2019 and delisted from the JSE in June 2020, but its business rescue was formally terminated on 30 June 2026.

M&R’s liquidation proceedings commenced in 2025 and it was delisted from the JSE in January this year.

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