Schools run recklessly

PROVISIONAL LIQUIDATION: FORMER KLEUTERZONE EMPLOYEE HAS THE FACTS

- Liesl Peyper

According to a document in Moneyweb's possession, 75% of 95 preschools in the KleuterZone franchise were operating below 50% capacity.

Moneyweb can also confirm that Ludus Holdings is the company that wants to acquire many of the KleuterZone schools.

Philip Kilian, a former KleuterZone employee who provided operational support, shared information with Moneyweb on pupil and teacher numbers at 95 schools he visited recently.

The pupil numbers are accurate as of 17 February. Moneyweb published its first article questioning KleuterZone's business model on the same day.

Kilian told Moneyweb that in addition to visiting these schools, Anthonie Bougas, the franchise's founder and owner, tasked him to pay particular attention to 24 "crisis schools" that were underperforming, especially in terms of low enrollment numbers.

Bougas, a former singer and TV presenter who founded KleuterZone in 2018, left South Africa for Thailand on 23 February and has not communicated with investors, staff or stakeholders since.