Dorchester awaits trust response

Dorchester Pacific says its finance company subsidiary Dorchester Finance could be out of moratorium by July 1 if a capital reconstruction plan is approved by investors.

Dorchester has been working closely with trustees Perpetual Trust, the Public Trust and their independent advisers since March 10.

The plan, and an independent report from PricewaterhouseCoopers, are now with the trustees.

Dorchester said it was awaiting final confirmation from Perpetual Trust so the plan can be put to debenture holders.

A meeting of investors could take place on June 17 if documents were mailed to investors around May 26. The debenture holders approved a moratorium for the company in December 2008.

"Whether that timetable can be met depends on how long it takes to get final confirmation from Perpetual Trust," said executive director Paul Byrnes.

Perpetual Trust, which is trustee for the debenture holders in Dorchester Finance, said a final decision would be made in two to three weeks.

Byrnes said the delay in getting the proposal to this stage had been frustrating for everyone. "We apologise to investors for the uncertainty that this may have created."

- NZPA