The company produced jetboat units principally for the performance end of the jetboat market.
It was placed in liquidation by shareholder resolution, which cited the initial and ongoing impacts from Covid-19, rise in material costs, loss of key employees, closure of a crucial supplier and issues with a previous distributor.
In their first six-month report, liquidators Trevor Laing and Emma Laing, of Laing Insolvency Specialists, said the company assets comprised various items of plant and machinery required for the manufacturing and assembly of waterjet units and also stock used in that process.
The liquidators identified the company also owned various dies required for machining that had been completed by a third party and arranged for those items to be returned.
A significant amount of time was spent identifying various IP the company owned and which could therefore be sold. A large number of inquiries were received from various parties expressing an interest in buying the company assets.
The liquidators liaised with the company bankers, who held a valid security over all of the assets, and it was decided a tender process would provide the best sale outcome.
Several tender offers were received and the highest tender had been accepted, the report said.
There were various settlement requirements to be satisfied for the sale to be completed, including transfer of ownership of the IP.
The sale proceeds would be held by the tender agent until those requirements had been completed and then paid to the liquidators for distribution.
A couple of other minor issues also required resolution but it was not expected they would result in any significant further funds for creditors.
In total, 48 creditor claims had been received totalling more than $545,000 and the total unsecured claims figure of $353,493.58 was expected to increase once a small number of further claims were finalised and filed.
It was estimated the liquidation would be completed within the next six months.
Based on current information, there would not be sufficient funds to pay unsecured creditors in full. If there was any payment to unsecured creditors, it would be on a pro-rata basis.
No offshore funding
An East Otago goat-milking operation placed in liquidation last year, owing $1.68million to creditors, has failed to receive promised offshore funding.
Goat Island Dairy, which was incorporated in 2017, traded as a dairy farm from a leasehold property near Waikouaiti.
It had several shareholders and was put into liquidation by a High Court order on the application of Cranleigh Haulage Ltd.
In his first report last year, liquidator Iain Nellies said the company’s director, Shaun Thomson, attributed the insolvency position of the company to under-capitalisation, which he had been trying to resolve through seeking funding offshore.
As of the date of that report, the director had been promised the funding but was awaiting the update from the investor, who was living overseas and travelling.
In the six-monthly report, Mr Nellies said the funding did not occur and the farm continued to be operated with the assistance of the director, the landlord and the major secured creditor.
Throughout this time, a number of creditors had contacted the liquidator professing to be secured creditors.
Although those creditors were secured, their security interest documents were lacking details and had not been registered on the Personal Property and Securities Register.
As a consequence, their ‘‘security’’ was lost to the registered secured creditors and, given the state of the creditors, they were unlikely to receive any return on their investment. Given the state of the creditors and the amounts owed, it was unlikely there would be any funds for the unsecured creditors.
Claims received to date comprised $1,411,762.16 (secured), $123,274.98 (preferential) and $241,635.89 (unsecured).
