Video production business insolvent, estimated to owe $800,000 to creditors

A creditor went to the High Court at Christchurch to have liquidators appointed to the video business. Photo / Getty Images

A creditor of a media business went to court to have a film production company declared insolvent, resulting in a liquidator being appointed.

Small Town Media was a film and media production company, saying it was “a boutique full-service creative agency”.

The sole director is Matt Johnson of Christchurch, according to the Companies Office. An associated business is events company Dig The Gig NZ which is not in liquidation.

Last month, Iain McLennan of McDonald Vague was appointed liquidator and his first report estimates creditors were owed $800,000.

Creditor and film and video production business OBD [Oscar Bravo Delta] went to the High Court at Christchurch on March 14 to get a liquidator appointed, McLennan’s report said.

OBD said it was previously known as Obsessive Brand Disorder and it is “a creative organisation leveraging brand stories and experiences”.

Small Town Media made films including, it said, working for Air New Zealand.

“The company was engaged in film and video production and contracted the work to other entities,” McLennan’s initial report said.

“The applicant creditor was one of the contractors involved and has liquidated the company in relation to various unpaid invoices issued between March 2022 and September 2023.

“The director is yet to provide detailed information about the company’s trading but has advised that the company was ‘another victim of Covid’.”

Unsecured creditors are listed in an initial statement of affairs as:

• Shareholder advances as at March, 2022 of $354,000;
• Trade creditors, estimated to be owed $270,000;
• Deficiency for preferential creditors of $139,000;
• Inland Revenue estimated to be owed $36,000.

Nothing is registered on the Personal Property Securities Register, so there are no secured creditors, the statement of affairs showed.

Assets available for creditors include film footage with the value of that put at $18,000 on the books although how much might be able to be recovered from that is listed as unknown.

A bank account has only $571 in it.

The value of any intellectual property or trademarks is listed as unknown under the assets list.

Small Town Media’s website said it had worked for Air New Zealand. An inquiry has been sent to the company to seek to verify this but no response has been received.

Johnson said today he had nothing to say about the liquidation.

The company’s slogan was “big things happen in small towns” and it offered ideas, productions and activation to its clients.

McLennan is now calling for creditors to lodge their claims.

At this stage it is unknown if any debts can be met, given an estimated deficit of $800,000 for unsecured creditors.

“The director has advised that the only assets are the projects that have been filmed over the last 10 years. We are unable to estimate a completion date for these actions as we are yet to receive detailed information from the director in relation to the assets,” McLennan said in his report.

A second report is due out in six months and that could show more about what had occurred.

Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 24 years, has won many awards, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.