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Three quarters of KleuterZone schools were operating at less than 50% capacity before questions began being raised about the group’s management.
In 16 of KleuterZone’s schools, there were fewer than 20 pupils, and in seven schools, the learner numbers were below 10, according to information Moneyweb has received. Picture: Moneyweb
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 Friday, 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 with paying 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.
Moneyweb initiated an investigation into KleuterZone following concerns expressed by existing and prospective investors about the sustainability of the group’s advertised high returns of between 38.4% and 62.4%.
Several investors have contacted Moneyweb in the past week, claiming they have not received dividends for March, while landlords have not received rent for the properties KleuterZone leases from them.
ALSO READ: KleuterZone fails to pay March dividends and rent
Underperforming schools
Kilian’s review of schools involved assessing the schools’ operational capacity and the competence of their principals, as well as identifying possible reasons for underperformance.
Of the 95 schools Kilian visited, only 27 were operating above 50% capacity, with the majority operating below this threshold.
In 16 of the schools, there were fewer than 20 pupils, and in seven schools, the learner numbers were below 10.
The pupil numbers in Kilian’s documents are far from the 85 learners per school Bougas stated were required for profitability. As of Friday, 14 March 2025, only seven out of the 95 schools had more than 85 learners.
Kilian told Moneyweb that he tried numerous times to present the learner numbers to Bougas without success. He believes KleuterZone has never had the capacity or ability to manage the schools effectively. “The group has been recklessly managed, and there was no intention to correct things,” he said.
ALSO READ: KleuterZone share certificates reference companies that do not exist
Provisional liquidation
On Tuesday morning, the Pretoria High Court placed KleuterZone Operations Pty Ltd – a KleuterZone management company – into provisional liquidation after investor Anita Susanna du Plessis filed an application, arguing that the group was in financial distress.
Bougas did not oppose the application.
Du Plessis’s legal representative, Mathys Krog, told Moneyweb that he “followed the money” and checked which of KleuterZone’s many companies were used for receiving investor money. “Many of the people who are now sending requisitions paid their funds into KleuterZone Operations,” Krog said.
After a liquidator has been appointed, an investigation into KleuterZone Operations can begin. The first step is to sequestrate the personal bank accounts of Bougas and his mother, Rensche Bougas, who was responsible for KleuterZone’s marketing.
ALSO READ: Are KleuterZone’s promised returns of up to 62.4% too good to be true?
To the rescue
Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that an investment company, Ludus Holdings, is interested in acquiring individual schools in the KleuterZone franchise. Lelanie Schoeman, the wife of former KleuterZone CEO Kobus Schoeman, circulated a WhatsApp message to school principals informing them that discussions with the buyer are still ongoing.
Moneyweb sent questions to Ludus Holdings late Tuesday to determine the potential implications of an acquisition. Once responses are received, the article will be updated.
This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
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