New Zealand

Allan Hubbard's Southbury Group and Southbury Corporation owe South Canterbury Finance nearly $190 million, receivers' reports show, The Timaru Herald reported. The receivers, Kerryn Downey and William Black of McGrath Nicol, released the second report of Southbury Group and of Southbury Corporation yesterday, both in receivership, for the period from November 3 last year to May 2 this year. The receivers' report said Southbury Group owed South Canterbury Finance $84.7m on the date of their appointment, November 3, last year. Southbury Corporation owed SCF $103.9m on November 3.

Debenture holders in Irongate Property may have to write off as much as a third of their investment, according to the failed property investor's receivers, Business Day reported. The receivers expect to repay between 67 cents and 83 cents in the dollar to 1,500 debenture holders owed $46.1 million, according to the first report by Barry Jordan and David Vance of Deloitte. The firm's assets were valued at about $78 million, leaving a shortfall of almost $20 million from the $97.9 million of total debt on Irongate's books.

The receiver of failed lender St Laurence says investors will probably get a return at the lower end of its forecast range, and is working towards making a second repayment in August, BusinessDay reported. Receivers Barry Jordan and David Vance of Deloitte expect investors will get a return at the lower end of 15 per cent to 22 per cent range on secured debenture holders' principal, according to their latest report. They said they want to make a second payment in August, with a third and final distribution next year. Debenture holders were paid 9 cents in the dollar in January.

The Crafar family have reached a truce with receivers, nearly two years after the collapse of their farming empire, The New Zealand Herald reported. And they say they remain hopeful the Government will reject the latest Chinese bid for 13 dairy farms and three drystock farms they formerly owned in the central North Island. Receivers KordaMentha took control of the farms in October 2009 after the Crafar family companies running them accumulated debts of more than $200 million. KordaMentha receiver Brendon Gibson yesterday confirmed a settlement had been reached.

The Serious Fraud Office has dropped its investigation into Mutual Finance and Viaduct Capital and handed information to the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) to consider, The National Business Review reported. Mutual Finance operated in its final days under the Crown Retail Deposit Guarantee scheme. When it collapsed into receivership last July, it owed 450 investors about $17 million. Related property financier, Viaduct Capital, was put into receivership in May 2010 owing 110 depositors $7.8 million.

The receiver of Lombard Finance & Investments is at loggerheads with the Inland Revenue Department over a $4.5 million tax bill relating to the sale of a building before the failed lender was wound up, Business Day reported. PricewaterhouseCoopers' John Fisk said the transaction pre-dated the receivership and involved a property being sold to a purchaser financed by Lombard. The tax department is claiming the transaction was a mortgagee sale, which means the tax liability would remain with Lombard. "The evidence we have and the tax advice we've had clearly has the seller as a borrower.

Liquidators have been unable to recover any money following the failed multimillion-dollar Walter Peak development, Business Day reported on a Southland Times story. Roderick Nielsen, his brother Greg and another director, Justin Russell, of London, were behind several developments in Queenstown, including the planned $50million Walter Peak project. Rod Nielsen, who bought Walter Peak land for $10m in 2006 and planned to build a luxury lodge, homesteads and cottages, was adjudicated bankrupt in 2009. The company is in liquidation and receivership.

Hanover Finance's loan to Fijian resort Vatulele has proved disastrous for Allied Farmers with ASB Bank calling in the receivers, The New Zealand Herald reported. The multimillion-dollar loan on the resort, a popular winter destination for New Zealanders and Australians, has been in default for more than two years. ASB, which lent to the project, pulled the plug last week. An Allied Farmers subsidiary is the second secured lender after ASB.

Prospects of any returns for unsecured creditors owed $556,000 from failed Auckland finance company Dominion Finance Group remain dismal, according to the latest liquidators' report, and it's not so great for secured creditors either, BusinessDay.co.nz reported. Dominion Finance was put into receivership in September 2008 owing about $176.9 million to more than 5900 investors. It was put into liquidation by the High Court at Auckland in May the next year. The Securities Commission laid criminal charges and filed civil suits a year ago against the group's directors.

Auckland property developer David Henderson has been declared bankrupt by an order made in Auckland's High Court, The National Business Review reported. The office of Mr Henderson's lawyer, Daniel Grove, said the order was made in judgment by Associate Judge David Abbott issued yesterday at 5pm. The judgment ends Mr Henderson's long-running battle against the IRD, which is owed $3.6 million. Proposals by Mr Henderson to repay 4 cents in the dollar to creditors owed $130 million had dragged proceedings over recent months, but last night they were apparently rejected by creditors.