Is your business under pressure but still worth rescuing?
Short answer
When creditors, payroll, SARS, suppliers, or liquidation threats start closing in, directors need a viability assessment before options disappear. KLS checks whether rescue, liquidation response, negotiation, or another stabilization route fits.
Who this is for
Is your company financially distressed?
The company is unable to pay its debts as they fall due
Suppliers, landlords, SARS, and other creditors are not being paid on time. The company is technically insolvent on a cash-flow basis even if assets exceed liabilities on paper.
Creditors are threatening legal action or have already obtained judgments
Letters of demand, summonses, Section 345 demands, or liquidation application threats are arriving. The company needs legal protection to create space to trade out of difficulty.
The business is fundamentally viable but needs restructuring
The underlying business model works — the problem is a specific debt burden, a cash flow crisis, or a particular creditor. With the right structure and breathing room, the business can recover.
The cost of waiting
Why timing is everything in business rescue
Business rescue is most powerful when commenced early. The later it is left, the fewer options remain.
The moratorium window closes
Once a liquidation order is granted, business rescue is no longer available. The moratorium — which suspends all creditor action — only attaches if rescue commences before liquidation.
Assets deteriorate
A business under financial stress loses value quickly — key staff leave, contracts lapse, stock depletes. Early rescue preserves the going concern value that makes recovery possible.
Director exposure increases
Continuing to trade while knowingly unable to pay debts can constitute reckless trading under the Companies Act. Early rescue proceedings provide legal protection for directors who act in good faith.
Creditor options narrow yours
The longer directors wait, the more creditors act unilaterally — obtaining judgments, warrants, and eventually liquidation applications. Each step reduces the available response options.
How it works
How KLS guides your business rescue assessment
Distress assessment
We assess whether the company meets the legal test for financial distress and whether there is a reasonable prospect of rescue. We give you an honest answer — not every distressed company is a rescue candidate.
Commencement and practitioner appointment
If rescue is the right route, we manage the board resolution, CIPC filings, and creditor notifications required to commence proceedings. The moratorium attaches immediately on commencement, suspending all legal action against the company.
Rescue plan and creditor engagement
The business rescue practitioner develops a rescue plan in consultation with creditors and affected parties. We support the process to ensure the plan reflects the best achievable outcome for the company and its stakeholders.
Before you start
What KLS checks before opening the matter
The intake is designed to classify the legal route, identify the documents that matter, and flag whether the matter needs attorney review before a formal step is taken.
Start this assessmentAssessment route
Business Distress Assessment
Review posture
Attorney review
Primary audience
Business
Legal context reviewed
Companies Act business rescue provisions, Business rescue moratorium
Last reviewed: 17 May 2026 · Next review due: 17 Nov 2026
Trust and intake boundaries
What you can expect at this stage
Document readiness
Useful documents to prepare
Routing checks
What the assessment helps KLS identify
This assessment is not legal advice and does not promise that business rescue is suitable. It helps KLS classify viability, urgency, and document readiness.
Guided pathways
If you are still deciding, use the pathway first
Related guides
Understand the issue before you submit
Connected legal routes
Other pages that may fit the same pressure
FAQs
Questions about business rescue
Get started
Check if your business qualifies for rescue
Tell us about your company's situation — the nature of the distress, key creditors, and what legal action has been threatened or taken. We respond within one business day.
Start the secure intake
You will answer a short set of questions so KLS can route the matter into the correct review process.
Continue to intakeYour information is confidential and used only for intake and consultation purposes.
Priority outcome
You receive an urgency and viability-routing outcome.
Document guidance
KLS identifies whether senior review or document triage is needed.
Next step routing
Consultation access depends on readiness, urgency, and gate status.
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