Roxanne Webster
Partner | Johannesburg
Contact
T: +27 11 669 9538
Overview
Roxanne prides herself in providing excellent client services by helping clients achieve the results that they want in the most efficient and cost-effective manner, whilst mitigating any potential risks.
With over 10 years’ experience, Roxanne specializes in business rescue and insolvency, assisting business rescue practitioners, liquidators, lenders and corporate clients in all aspects of business rescue and insolvency, including distressed sales and acquisitions. She also advises clients on directors’ duties and liabilities and how to mitigate any personal liability when facing financial distress.
Roxanne also has a keen interest in commercial litigation often acting for financial institutions and others in relation to contractual disputes and corporate recovery.
She regularly delivers seminars and writes for various top-tiered media publications.
She is also the founding board member of the South African branch of the International Women in Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation, Southern Africa (IWIRC). IWIRC is a global organization founded in the United States.
Professional Memberships
- South African Restructuring and Insolvency Practitioners Associations (SARIPA).
- INSOL International.
- International Women in Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation, Southern Africa, serving as a founding board member.
Experience
Jurisdictions worked in: South Africa
Languages Fluent in: English
Roxanne:
- Assisted in advising Airlink (Pty) Ltd, being a major creditor in the market defining ZAR 70 billion business rescue of South African Airways SOC Ltd. The matter involves a dispute on the interpretation of the business rescue plan of SAA.
- Assisted in advising The Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa in the restructuring of Kalagadi Manganese (Pty) Ltd. The matter involves an ongoing opposed business rescue application as well as other ancillary litigation. This is one of the biggest exposures within the IDC book.
- Assisted in advising the business recue practitioners of Rebosis Property Fund Ltd, being a REIT listed on the JSE, in relation to one of the largest and noteworthy business rescues in the market. The value of the business rescue (total liabilities) amounts to ZAR 13 billion. The matter attracts market attention and is newsworthy due to it being the first REIT to be placed under business rescue. The matter has involved various interpretation disputes pertaining to the business rescue legislation as well as initiatives and strategies to obtain dispensation from the listing requirements of the JSE.
- Assisted in advising The Post Office Retirement Fund, as major creditor, in the business rescue proceedings of the South African Post Office SOC Ltd.
- Assisted in advising international investors with written advice in relation to the restructuring of Edcon.
- Assisted with written advice in relation to the restructuring of a large mining conglomerate and its related entities.
- Assisted in evicting a company in liquidation (and its related entities and persons) from premises that it occupied illegally for more than 10 years.
- Assisted in conducting a compromise in terms of section 155 of the Companies Act 71 of 2008 after the company concerned was liquidated and a potential investor was identified.
- Assisted a UK company institute recovery proceedings against debtors who relocated to South Africa to evade debt incurred in the UK and settling the matter to satisfaction of the client.
- Instituting urgent perfection application (before debtors could be placed into business rescue proceedings) in terms of a various General Notarial Bonds where client was owed approximately R 1 billion.
- Assisted in convening and conducting enquiry proceedings after a company’s business rescue proceedings was converted to liquidation and client provided post-commencement finance to the value of 8 million USD; and assisting in instituting proceedings against the appointed business rescue practitioner for, inter alia, reckless trading and breach of fiduciary duties.
- Assisted in the business rescue proceedings of Comair Limited.
- Assisted various clients who continued to render services to SAA during its business rescue and negotiating with the business rescue practitioners on the treatment, payment and security for such claims.
- Assisted in successfully opposing proceedings instituted by shareholders to convert the liquidation proceedings of Group Five Limited into liquidation.
- Assisted in proceedings instituted against SAP Limited for over R900m.
- Assisted in advising a client in relation to the business rescue proceedings of The New House of Busby (now Frontier Co).
- Advising the business rescue practitioners appointed to a casino and gambling operations group with a combined debt of over R100m.
- Advised SPAR Limited in the business rescues of two retailers in Johannesburg. With one retailer, we successfully applied to court to terminate the business rescue but not place the company into liquidation to allow SPAR to take over the store and pay creditors. In the other, we successfully negotiating a sale of the business, ensuring that a large portion of SPAR’s debt is recovered.
- Advising Capitec Bank and Investec in various commercial recoveries, litigation, and insolvency related matters.
Awards
- The Best Lawyers in South Africa ranked Roxanne for Insolvency and Reorganization Law for the year 2023.
AREA OF EXPERTISE
Qualifications
- LLB, university of Witwatersrand.
- Postgraduate diploma in Insolvency Law and Practice, University of Pretoria, cum laude.
- LLM in Commercial Law, University of Johannesburg, cum laude.
- Year of Admission as Attorney and Notary Public: 2016.
Overview
Roxanne prides herself in providing excellent client services by helping clients achieve the results that they want in the most efficient and cost-effective manner, whilst mitigating any potential risks.
With over 10 years’ experience, Roxanne specializes in business rescue and insolvency, assisting business rescue practitioners, liquidators, lenders and corporate clients in all aspects of business rescue and insolvency, including distressed sales and acquisitions. She also advises clients on directors’ duties and liabilities and how to mitigate any personal liability when facing financial distress.
Roxanne also has a keen interest in commercial litigation often acting for financial institutions and others in relation to contractual disputes and corporate recovery.
She regularly delivers seminars and writes for various top-tiered media publications.
She is also the founding board member of the South African branch of the International Women in Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation, Southern Africa (IWIRC). IWIRC is a global organization founded in the United States.
Professional Memberships
- South African Restructuring and Insolvency Practitioners Associations (SARIPA).
- INSOL International.
- International Women in Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation, Southern Africa, serving as a founding board member.
Experience
Jurisdictions worked in: South Africa
Languages Fluent in: English
Roxanne:
- Assisted in advising Airlink (Pty) Ltd, being a major creditor in the market defining ZAR 70 billion business rescue of South African Airways SOC Ltd. The matter involves a dispute on the interpretation of the business rescue plan of SAA.
- Assisted in advising The Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa in the restructuring of Kalagadi Manganese (Pty) Ltd. The matter involves an ongoing opposed business rescue application as well as other ancillary litigation. This is one of the biggest exposures within the IDC book.
- Assisted in advising the business recue practitioners of Rebosis Property Fund Ltd, being a REIT listed on the JSE, in relation to one of the largest and noteworthy business rescues in the market. The value of the business rescue (total liabilities) amounts to ZAR 13 billion. The matter attracts market attention and is newsworthy due to it being the first REIT to be placed under business rescue. The matter has involved various interpretation disputes pertaining to the business rescue legislation as well as initiatives and strategies to obtain dispensation from the listing requirements of the JSE.
- Assisted in advising The Post Office Retirement Fund, as major creditor, in the business rescue proceedings of the South African Post Office SOC Ltd.
- Assisted in advising international investors with written advice in relation to the restructuring of Edcon.
- Assisted with written advice in relation to the restructuring of a large mining conglomerate and its related entities.
- Assisted in evicting a company in liquidation (and its related entities and persons) from premises that it occupied illegally for more than 10 years.
- Assisted in conducting a compromise in terms of section 155 of the Companies Act 71 of 2008 after the company concerned was liquidated and a potential investor was identified.
- Assisted a UK company institute recovery proceedings against debtors who relocated to South Africa to evade debt incurred in the UK and settling the matter to satisfaction of the client.
- Instituting urgent perfection application (before debtors could be placed into business rescue proceedings) in terms of a various General Notarial Bonds where client was owed approximately R 1 billion.
- Assisted in convening and conducting enquiry proceedings after a company’s business rescue proceedings was converted to liquidation and client provided post-commencement finance to the value of 8 million USD; and assisting in instituting proceedings against the appointed business rescue practitioner for, inter alia, reckless trading and breach of fiduciary duties.
- Assisted in the business rescue proceedings of Comair Limited.
- Assisted various clients who continued to render services to SAA during its business rescue and negotiating with the business rescue practitioners on the treatment, payment and security for such claims.
- Assisted in successfully opposing proceedings instituted by shareholders to convert the liquidation proceedings of Group Five Limited into liquidation.
- Assisted in proceedings instituted against SAP Limited for over R900m.
- Assisted in advising a client in relation to the business rescue proceedings of The New House of Busby (now Frontier Co).
- Advising the business rescue practitioners appointed to a casino and gambling operations group with a combined debt of over R100m.
- Advised SPAR Limited in the business rescues of two retailers in Johannesburg. With one retailer, we successfully applied to court to terminate the business rescue but not place the company into liquidation to allow SPAR to take over the store and pay creditors. In the other, we successfully negotiating a sale of the business, ensuring that a large portion of SPAR’s debt is recovered.
- Advising Capitec Bank and Investec in various commercial recoveries, litigation, and insolvency related matters.
Awards
- The Best Lawyers in South Africa ranked Roxanne for Insolvency and Reorganization Law for the year 2023.
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