Sale of SC Finance assets close

Photo / Dean Purcell

South Canterbury Finance's receiver expects to make an announcement on the sale of some of its assets this week.

Receiver Kerryn Downey of McGrathNicol told Radio New Zealand he expects to make an announcement in the next day or so in respect to SCF's holdings in Helicopters NZ and Scales Corp, the two companies SCF founder Allan Hubbard poured into the failed financier in a bid to boost its equity and stave off collapse.

At the time, the units were valued at about $152.5 million.

"I'm very optimistic we'll get better than face value," Downey said.

Yesterday, the Serious Fraud Office said it was investigating several related-party transactions involving the financier, and Downey told Radio NZ that then-chairman Hubbard would have been aware of the deals.

The last of the debenture and deposit holders who were covered by the government's guarantee will get their payment today after the Crown paid $1.775 billion upfront to take on sole creditor rights to the firm when it collapsed at the end of August.