Matarangi golf course goes to Auckland property developer

Matarangi golf course goes to Auckland property developer

By Russell Palmer

Dec. 23 (BusinessDesk) Allied Farmers’ Matarangi has sold its golf course and clubhouse along with five villas to Auckland property developer Peter Sundberg.

Matarangi still possesses a number of undeveloped properties near the golf course, though these are currently being advertised by Richardson’s Real Estate.

The company’s trading income has dropped from over $520,000 to just over $60,000 in the last six months, receivers KordaMentha said.

Kordamentha have sent a letter to residents of Matarangi to assure them the sale would remove any uncertainty about the future of the golf course.

They cannot confirm whether Mr Sundberg is planning to make any changes, but say he is “committed to Matarangi”.

Property assets for the company were valued at $26.1 million in May last year down from the $45.8 million gross value attributed to the asset in Hanover’s June 30, 2009, financial statements.

Matarangi, wholly owned by Allied, owes an estimated $280,000 to unsecured creditors, and the receivers said it is unlikely unsecured creditors would see any return. It still owns the equipment, stock and other fixed assets associated with properties sold, and has re-opened its restaurant after the winter period.

Allied Farmers has seen stocks plummet from over $1.90 a share to 34c in the past year.

Matarangi has been in receivership since HSBC cancelled its $18.9 million term loan facility on Nov. 18 of last year. This followed Allied’s refusal to provide support for the facility since December 2009.

Now called Matarangi Beach Estates, it was among assets that Allied acquired from Hanover and United Finance that had not kept the value formerly attributed to them. Allied paid for the financial assets by issuing a flood of stock to the debenture and note holders, and their main trading arm has since failed.

Allied managing director Rob Alloway said at the time that Hanover’s financial statements, which debenture holders were relying on, were unrealistic as there is no way the market for those assets had deteriorated so much in such a short time.

Allied turned down the chance to sell the assets, at a discount, back to former Hanover group owners Mark Hotchin and Eric Watson. Allied was owed about $20 million by Matarangi at the time of its receivership.

(BusinessDesk)

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