$50,000 statue sale disputed

The $50,000 statue removed from financially troubled developer Dave Henderson's Anthem Vineyards in January has been sold to a new owner for a "very satisfactory" price, the receiver says.

Auckland-based receiver Paul Sargison, partner of Gerry Rea Partners, said on Friday the buyer did not wish to be identified. However, he was able to confirm the statue Joie de Vivre had been sold to a New Zealand owner who was not associated with Anthem Holdings.

The receiver declined to disclose how much the sculpture had been sold for.

The estimated two-tonne statue had been repaired by the original artist Llew Summers, of Christchurch, while in storage at Olssen's Garden Vineyard, in Bannockburn, for most of February.

The statue was removed by crane and truck from its high-profile site in Gibbston, as it was an asset of Anthem Holdings.

Mr Henderson, of Christchurch, was listed as the sole director of Anthem Holdings by the Companies Office, which also stated Anthem owed $11.7 million. He said soon after the removal the receiver did not have the authority to take the statue and he intended to take the statue back using a crane and truck.