Apax built 120 English centers on debt, then collapsed with VND94B in unpaid refunds

Apax Holdings, through its subsidiary Apax Leaders, built one of Vietnam's largest English language center chains. At its peak it operated 120 centers serving 120,000 students. The company was controlled by Egroup, chaired by Nguyen Ngoc Thuy, a well-known investor from Vietnam's Shark Tank. The expansion was funded almost entirely by debt.

When COVID-19 forced school closures in 2020–2021, revenue stopped but the interest payments did not. Financial expenses tripled in 2022, with interest costs consuming 80% of total financial expenses. The company posted a record loss of VND81.3 billion ($3.4 million) in 2022, and its stock price plunged 86%.

By 2023, Apax Leaders had closed most of its centers but failed to refund tuition fees. In Ho Chi Minh City alone, the company owed VND94 billion ($3.81 million) in tuition refunds, VND11.5 billion in unpaid salaries, VND9 billion in rent, VND32 billion in insurance premiums, and VND15 billion in taxes. Apax Holdings was delisted from the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange for failing to submit financial reports, then suspended from the over-the-counter market.

In March 2024, Nguyen Ngoc Thuy was arrested on fraud charges after hundreds of parents and investors filed complaints. The investigation is ongoing.

Kept collecting tuition for classes it could not deliver, then failed to refund VND94B, turning an operational crisis into a fraud case and the founder's arrest.

Debt-funded expansion left no buffer — when COVID closed the centers, revenue stopped but loan payments did not.

The company continued collecting tuition fees for services it could not deliver, then failed to refund them, turning an operational crisis into a fraud investigation.

Financial reporting collapsed along with the business — the company failed to submit audited statements for 2022 or any quarterly reports for 2023, triggering delisting.

The founder's celebrity status (Shark Thuy) attracted investors and parents who trusted the brand, making the eventual fall more damaging.

Debt-funded growth in education is a bet on uninterrupted enrollment — one disruption and the interest payments consume the business.