Trustco Group Holdings, an investment firm majority-owned by Namibian businessman Quinton van Rooyen and his family, expects to complete its outstanding financial audits in the fourth quarter of 2026, extending uncertainty for shareholders as trading in its shares remains suspended on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).

The company disclosed the revised timeline in an update issued on Friday, saying completion depends on finalising audits at subsidiary and investee level and appointing auditors for Trustco and the group in line with JSE guidance.

The outstanding audits cover the financial years ended August 31, 2024, and August 31, 2025. Their delay has left shareholders without access to normal trading in the company’s JSE-listed shares, following several revised deadlines for publication of its annual financial statements.

Trustco works to resolve audit requirements

Trustco has attributed part of the delay to changes in JSE listing requirements introduced in December 2023, which affected its audit arrangements as a Namibian-incorporated company with a primary listing on the exchange’s main board.

In an announcement on April 1, the group said it had been engaging with the JSE and other regulatory stakeholders to establish an acceptable audit structure. It subsequently moved towards a dual-audit arrangement involving separate but coordinated auditors for the company and the wider group.

Trustco is in the process of appointing Nexia SAB&T as group auditor while engaging a Namibian-registered audit firm to satisfy local legal requirements.

The company says completing and publishing the two years of audited financial statements should allow it to apply for the lifting of its JSE trading suspension.

In its latest update, the board said it was encouraged by progress and remained committed to restoring the group’s reporting timetable. “The board is encouraged by the progress achieved and remains committed to restoring the company’s reporting timetable, completing the outstanding Namibian and South African audits, and providing shareholders and the market with up-to-date financial information as soon as practicably possible,” it said.

$28.2 million Legal Shield transaction fuels dispute

The audit delays have coincided with growing tensions between Trustco and its United States-based investor, Riskowitz Value Fund (RVF), including legal disputes over a NAD468 million ($28.2 million) transaction involving Legal Shield Holdings.

Under the proposed transaction, Trustco agreed to acquire an additional 11.35% stake in the insurance business from RVF in exchange for 400 million Trustco shares valued at NAD1.17 ($0.07) each. Shareholders approved the deal in January 2025, but disagreements later emerged over its implementation and allegations concerning attempts to influence the company’s board.

Trustco announced in February that it was unwinding the transaction, arguing that RVF had acted contrary to the conditions under which shareholders approved the deal. The disagreement subsequently moved to the Namibian High Court.

Court proceedings add to shareholder uncertainty

On September 25, the court granted an interim order attaching 200 million Trustco shares and 1,135 unlisted Legal Shield shares linked to RVF. A further hearing is scheduled for November 6.

Trustco has also faced demands from RVF for shareholder meetings to consider changes to the company’s board, adding another layer of uncertainty as the group works to resolve its reporting challenges.

For now, the fourth-quarter 2026 target represents the latest timetable for completing the outstanding audits. Their publication remains a key step towards restoring the company’s financial reporting position and seeking the resumption of trading on the JSE.