The developers of the Bendemeer lodge and villas near Lake Hayes in the Wakatipu are selling out of the project, according to a Christchurch-based Bendemeer marketing agent, Chris Herbert.
Mr Herbert said the Bendemeer directors, Richmond Paynter and Ross Allan, had a buyer "lined up", although they had not officially notified people who had bought into the "fractional ownership" scheme.
Bendemeer was last year named as one of the dozens of developments linked to failed finance company Bridgecorp. Bridgecorp is now under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office.
Mr Herbert said, when asked, that Bridgecorp was not a major financier of Bendemeer.
Strategic Finance was the main company which "run that show".
On March 4, it was reported that Strategic Finance, owned by stricken Australian company Allco Finance Group, had virtually stopped long-term lending.
It had switched its lending to short-term to match its borrowings which, like other finance companies, had contracted drastically as debenture holders baulked at reinvesting.
Mr Herbert said all finance companies wanted their money back.
"Bridgecorp has gone under, so have a lot of other finance companies. There's a lot of hype out there. If you have a structured sell-down, everybody should be looked after. Bendemeer are obviously comfortable with their security."
Located on the terrace above Lake Hayes, the development offers buyers a proportional freehold ownership title of a villa, adjacent lodge, poolside pavilion and woolshed, without the responsibilities of owning and maintaining a second home, according to the project website.
Mr Herbert said a sale contract for an undisclosed sum would become unconditional in about two weeks, but declined to name the prospective buyer.
The move to sell the development came after the directors received an unsolicited offer late last year from a potential buyer offering an injection of capital beyond the capability of the developer.
However, Mr Herbert said that offer failed to go through.
Mr Allan said yesterday there was not a lot more he could add to what Mr Herbert had told the Otago Daily Times.
He said his transactions were private and he could not disclose them to the media.
Asked if the share in the Bendemeer development owned by himself and Mr Paynter was for sale, he reiterated that it was a private business deal and that the financiers of the development could be identified from a title search.
Mr Paynter did not return calls from the newspaper and Paynter Investments has had its answerphone on since Monday and similarly has not returned calls.
