Boost finds fresh owner in New Tank

An Auckland Boost bar with signs removed following the sale of the chain, soon to be renamed Tank. Picture / Richard Robinson

Juice bar chain Boost has been sold after the franchise was placed into liquidation last month.

David Wright, founder of the successful womenswear chain Max Fashions, sold the master franchise to New Tank late last month.

The sale brings to an abrupt end Wright's plans to roll out the bars - a runaway success across the Tasman - nationwide after his investment company Grappa bought the franchise a year ago.

"Boost was so dominant in Australia. The concepts were very strong, therefore we can roll this through New Zealand very quickly using our skill sets - which are basically branding," he told a newspaper at the time.

The bars, totalling eight in January, will now be rebranded as Tank.

Accountancy firm Gerry Rea Associates said Boost Juice New Zealand had been placed into liquidation in early April after the shareholders decided they did not wish to continue trading.

It was sold for "a substantial sum" after first being offered back to its Australian franchisor, said Gerry Rea partner Paul Sargison.

With around 170 stores in Australia, Boost Juice rapidly expanded across the Tasman after founder Janine Allis opened the first store in Adelaide in 2000.

Wright, son of Hugh Wright jnr, who built the Hugh Wright menswear chain, also has stakes in the Amazon surfwear chain and apparel retailer Hallenstein Glasson. He could not be reached for comment yesterday.