Creditors of a company have a substantial interest in an application to set aside business rescue proceedings or the adoption of a business rescue plan. A court will dismiss such an application if the creditors are not joined as parties to the application.

Giving notice of the application to the creditors does not cure the failure to cite the creditors as parties to the application. This is clear from the recent SCA judgment in Golden Dividend v Absa Bank and an earlier SCA judgment in Absa Bank Ltd v Naude NO & Others.