Collapsed house builder boss still missing

Valiant Homes had been working on 13 building sites in Auckland but went into liquidation and receivership in March last year. Photo / Thinkstock

The director who ran a trio of failed property companies owing more than $6 million still can't be tracked down.

Valiant Homes had been working on 13 building sites in Auckland but went into liquidation and receivership last March, owing more than $4 million, with suppliers and other unsecured creditors claiming more than $1 million of that amount.

It was directed by Auckland man Hamish James Clarke, who was also behind two other property companies that went into liquidation last year.

Clarke was believed to be in Europe as of last September and didn't leave behind company records for the liquidators to work through.

He has yet to surface - although one of the liquidators, Grant Reynolds, told the Herald there was no system in place where he would be notified if Clarke had returned to this country.

Gareth Hoole, liquidator of V H Projects Two, said in a report this month that he was unable to locate Clarke:

"Notwithstanding a number of efforts to locate the director of the company, the liquidators were unable to do so and the liquidators understand that he has left New Zealand. There is prima facie evidence of inappropriate activity on the part of the director and the liquidators believe that he failed to meet the statutory duties imposed in a director of a company," Hoole said.

"However, given the absence of funding and also an inability to locate the said director, no further action was taken by the liquidators. At the time of the preparation of the first report the Liquidators were unaware of any creditors but have since ascertained that there was in excess of $1,800,000 of liabilities. The company was clearly insolvent and again, this supports evidence of inappropriate conduct on the part of the director," Hoole said in this month's report.

Since Valiant Homes' collapse some funds have come back to creditors. One lender, Savings & Loans, has got back $745,000 of the $3.2 million it was owed.

Heartland Bank is believed to have received a little under half of the $325,000 it was owed.