Yesterday, both receiver Brendon Gibson, of KordaMentha, and Hirequip chief executive Brian Stephen said the receivership would have no effect on the national equipment rental businesses.
Hirequip would continue to operate "as usual" while the company was prepared for sale as a going concern, Mr Gibson said.
The parent shareholding companies in receivership were Pacific Equipment Solutions Ltd, PES Finance Ltd and Hire Equipment Group Ltd.
The financiers were committed to the business and Mr Gibson did not anticipate any need to become involved in the businesses themselves, he said in a statement.
The receivership would allow Mr Stephen and senior management to continue running day-to-day operations and focus on long-term planning without any potential distractions while the capital structure and ownership of the businesses was resolved, he said.
Mr Stephen described it as "business as usual" and staff, customers, landlords and creditors could be assured the receivership would have no effect on the Hirequip business.
The companies in receivership were ultimately owned by private Australian equity company Tasman Capital Partners.
Last month, it was reported that Hirequip was considering options to raise equity and could eventually look at relisting on the stock exchange.
At that time, it was considering a bond issue to institutional investors, not retail bonds, in New Zealand to possibly raise between $20 million and $60 million.
Hirequip's hire revenue was forecast to hit $55.5 million in the year to June, up from $51.1 million in 2010-11, and $44.3 million in 2009-10. The company had forecast hire revenue for 2012-13 of $61.2 million, The New Zealand Herald reported last month.
Craigs Investment Partners brokers Peter McIntyre said the financiers and chief executive were obviously committed to keeping the business going and it seemed to be trading well.
Hirequip was originally formed from the hire equipment business started by Stuart McKinlay, of Dunedin, and the former investment company Southern Capital Ltd, of the late Howard Paterson, and it has since undergone several ownership changes.
When contacted yesterday, Mr McKinlay was not surprised by the announcement, saying it was the result of too much debt "and they never got to the stage where they could pay back any of the debt or bring in another equity partner". Hirequip itself was trading "reasonably well" and would continue to do so.
"It's going to be interesting to see if anyone comes out of the woodwork. I can't see that happening in the near future. The climate's not right for investors at the moment," he said.
It was more than six years since he had any shareholding in the business, although he was still a landlord to Hirequip.
