Te Rapa building up for tender

WAIKATO TIMES

AWARD-WINNING BARGAIN: The multimillion-dollar Money Mart Direct premises in Te Rapa has been put out to a mortgagee tender and is expected to sell for a lot less than a year ago.

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An award-winning office and retail showroom featuring five kitchens, a roof-top heli pad and an executive gym built for used car dealership and finance company Money Mart Direct is up for mortgagee tender along with two other commercial properties associated with the failed company.

Money Mart Direct (South Island) Ltd and its parent company Voyager Holdings Ltd were placed in receivership last month by UDC Finance but the Bank of New Zealand has put the properties out to mortgagee tenders.

The 1302 square metre, multimillion-dollar building was named Commercial Project of the Year at the 2008 Waikato Registered Master Builders House of the Year Awards and was briefly put up for sale last year by Paul Brown, a Money Mart director, and wife Kelly.

The building was in a trust, which the Browns were the trustees of, and was independent of the business but was withdrawn from the market when the receivership was announced last October.

Bayleys Success Realty commercial sales agent Andrew Shaw expected the building to sell for "substantially less" than what the Browns would have been expecting.

He said a workshop in Greenwood St and a car yard in Matthews St associated with Money Mart were also being tendered.

The properties were adjoining and could be sold together or separately.

There had already been some expressions of interest, Mr Shaw said.

At the time the receivers took over, Money Mart, which had five branches nationwide, and Voyager owed $4,099,500 to more than 300 creditors around New Zealand.

The Department of Inland Revenue which had a preferential claim for $737,000 of unpaid PAYE and GST also gained a court judgement placing them in liquidation in February.

While PriceWaterhouseCoopers receivers Malcolm Hollis and Colin McCloy have sold the vehicles registered to the company and other chattels, Mr Hollis said UDC Finance did not hold security over the land or buildings.

The $3 million Eurocopter belonging to Mr Brown had been sold before the liquidation, Mr Hollis said.

Remaining options to recoup outstanding debts was a ledger of loans Money Mart had given under its vehicle finance operation.

Mr Hollis said most of the loans had actually been financed by UDC Finance and it was continuing to collect on those.

So far Mr Hollis and Mr McCloy had been able to settle the $147,000 outstanding pay owed to former Money Mart employees and their last receiver's report stated some money had been paid to the IRD.

However, they did not believe there would be enough to cover its total claim.

The report states there is unlikely to be any payment to unsecured creditors.

A legal dispute had so far prevented the receivers from entering the Te Rapa premises which contained more office furniture and gym equipment.

Mr Hollis said he was considering the possibility of legal action to secure and then sell the chattels.

The tenders for all three properties close on December 15.