Needmor Firewood Ltd was placed into liquidation in September 2022 by order of the High Court of Dunedin, on the petition of the Inland Revenue Department (IRD).
In their final report, released this month, liquidator Wendy Somerville, of PwC, said the company’s insolvency was due to “a lot” of job losses and struggles getting back into the industry and trading successfully.
The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic were also cited.
The company’s website stated it was a family-owned business, based in Christchurch, which provided specialist tree services to the greater Canterbury and Otago regions.
The company’s physical assets were sold collectively for a total of $130,971, the report said.
Two unsecured claims totalling $567,047.32 were received but no distribution was made due to “insufficient recoveries” being made in the liquidation.
A sum of $32,827 was paid out to one secured creditor after a settlement was reached, and a preferential creditor was awarded costs of $1040.76.
A preferential claim was also received from the IRD of $122,456.22 in relation to unpaid GST and PAYE.
It received a distribution of 41 cents to the dollar in relation to the claim totalling $50,000.
The company’s records indicated an advance account had been made with a related company, the report said.
“We determined that collecting on the intercompany advance account was not economically viable, given the evidence showing that the related company is also insolvent.”
That company too was placed into liquidation, in mid-January this year, the report said.
Notice has been given to remove Needmor Firewood Ltd from the New Zealand Companies Register at the end of the month.
KD Firewood Ltd, which originated in Invercargill and later took over Wanaka Firewood, was also recently placed into liquidation, by a special shareholder resolution in March.
Liquidators had previously estimated the total amount owed to creditors at $955,514.56 — which included nine unsecured creditor claims totalling $126,556.
The total estimated deficit, subject to the costs of the liquidation, was $296,364.56.
tim.scott@odt.co.nz
