No payout from Blue Chip unit, says liquidator

NZPA - Businessday | Wednesday, 10 September 2008

Investors remain unlikely to see any returns from the property management company of the now defunct property investor Blue Chip, liquidators said in their latest report.

Meltzer Mason Heath, the liquidator for 21 Blue Chip companies, said Bribanc assets including collectable debtors, some office equipment and furniture, and cash had not generated enough funds to pay creditors.

Management rights were worthless as a result of Bribanc's actions before liquidation, and because of the significant numbers of investors terminating their management agreements, liquidator Lloyd Hayward said in the report dated September 5.

Bribanc had contracted out its property management obligations to Harcourts and First Street Property Management.

"The companies that investors purchased properties from have no assets other than a debt from Blue Chip NZ Ltd. There is little likelihood that this intercompany debt can be recovered."

Liquidators had commissioned legal opinions on some issues, and said co-operation may be possible in legal cases on behalf of individual investors if they benefited all creditors. NZPA