Disgraced English center tries to strike deal with disgruntled parents

A group of students’ parents have been demanding that Apax Holdings refund tuition fees worth of thousands of billion dong (VND1 billion equivalent to $44,000) that have yet to be repaid since dozens of Apax Leaders centers shut down across the country.

Nguyen Ngoc Thuy, aka Shark Thuy, chairman of Egroup, the parent company of Apax Holdings, said his company is working with parents to find a suitable solution to the situation.

For parents who cannot continue their children’s educations at other Apax Leaders locations, Apax Holdings has suggested turning the tuition debts into loan contracts that would pay interest rates.

As for investors who lost money in the centers’ collapses, the company has yet to announce a specific plan.

Thuy admitted that Egroup was facing severe difficulties, including a lack of cash flows due to the Covid-lockdown-enforced closure of its educational institutions over the last few years.

He warned it would take the company two or three years to recover after the shutdown period.

Since November last year, Apax Holdings has been accused of delaying salary payments and of failing to uphold the quality of its educational offerings.

Thuy said that in the current context, Apax Holdings, as the parent company, is supporting Apax English to work with investors on its restructuring plan.

By March, 38 Apax centers will reopen in some localities such as Hai Phong, Da Nang, Vinh, Quang Binh, Binh Duong, and Dong Nai.

Apax Holdings posted its largest-ever losses of VND81.3 billion (US$3.4 million) in 2022 as costs skyrocketed, mainly due to surging loan interest rates.