In 1926 South Africa was the first country after the USA to have introduced business rescue legislation. Judicial management, however, proved to be ineffective and on 1 May 2011 was replaced with the business rescue provisions in Chapter 6 of the new company legislation.

Chapter 6 business rescue legislations represent a codification of the turnaround procedures followed in the informal sector, but are designed to overcome a number of practical problems faced, and to protect the interests of all stakeholders. It comes with its own problems though, and financially distressed companies will always have to make the choice between informal turnaround (workout) and Chapter 6 turnaround (business rescue) based on the specific circumstances they face. 

That notwithstanding, new business rescue legislation implemented on 1 May 2011 represents an important new era in the South African turnaround industry with the potential of saving many more financially distressed but economically viable companies from liquidation.