Texas businessman Trammell Simonton Crow was an investor in Merino Downs with co-developer Chris White, an offshore New Zealander.
They parted ways after their business partnership in the upmarket subdivision became strained.
Mr Crow applied through his company, Pounamu Strategic Holdings, for Mr White’s company, TSCCW Twizel LP Management (TSCCW), to be put into liquidation at the High Court at Christchurch on October 2.
Pounamu Strategic also filed a liquidation application for Hooker Holdings Management, a building company jointly owned by Pounamu.
BDO Christchurch licensed insolvency practitioners Colin Gower and Diana Matchett were appointed liquidators for both companies last year.
More lately, they have set a deadline for creditors of TSCCW to make their claims and set their priority by this Wednesday.
Mr White told the ODT last December the liquidation was an unfortunate result of two business partners who could not come to an agreement and there were no outside creditors.
‘‘It was a highly profitable subdivision to date and I think it will be a highly profitable subdivision going forward. I am very proud of what was created for lot owners and the town ... it’s raised the bar and other developers have told me that it raised their bar and the square-metre price.’’
He said Mr Crow had been a great partner and it was a shame a strong friendship had ended as they had not talked for two and a-half years.
His father founded, at one stage, the largest real estate company in the world.
In a first liquidators report to creditors and shareholders for TSCCW on December 16, an overall shortfall or surplus had yet to be confirmed.
There were no known creditors at that stage, they said.
The property is near Twizel on Old Glen Lyon Rd.
Merino Downs’ website describes the subdivision location as having a quaint, small Kiwi-town feel in the Mackenzie with ‘‘big sky and big basins’’.
The 34-lot development, each with 5000 to 6000sq m of land, is on a 22ha site.
About 20 lots had been sold by last year, Mr White crediting little activity lately to rising building costs and interest rates higher than overseas.
A Trade Me listing pitched Merino Downs as elevated living with bare block prices by negotiation.
Mr White, who moved to the US to work in the finance industry, is a co-director with Simon Williamson for TSCCW, formed in 2017.
The site is on land formerly part of Ben Ohau Station with the co-developers investing heavily into recreational reserve areas and landscaping.
A statement show home owned by Mr Crow was built to set the tone for the subdivision.
A date was not set in the first report for completing the liquidation.
