KEY POINTS:
Another company associated with the Merlot property investment scheme has gone into liquidation.
Merlot was a large developer of residential investment properties in South Auckland and Gulf Harbour, and used a business model similar to the infamous Blue Chip scheme.
In July the company which constructed the houses, Merlot Homes, was put into liquidation. It emerged investors were out of pocket on rental income, and tradesmen were owed hundreds of thousands of dollars.
On Friday in the Auckland High Court, Merlot Investments - apparently the development arm of the group - was wound up by a printing company it owed money to, with the Inland Revenue Department in support.
Liquidator Damien Grant of Waterstone Insolvency said it was not yet clear how the Merlot group operated. It seemed Merlot Investments bought the land and did the property development. The developers would take deposits from investors and use this funding to kick-start the building. Once the property was complete another company called Merlot Residential would collect rental income from tenants and pay it to investors.
"Merlot Residential is not at the moment in liquidation although there appears to be - from what we can see - money going between the two enterprises," said Grant.
He said the liquidators had spoken to a couple of investors who had paid deposits on investment properties. "We're concerned that those deposits may have been lost."
Grant said tenants had also paid bond money to Merlot which should have been passed on to the Tenancy Tribunal but was not.
Merlot Homes, Investments and Residential share the same shareholders. These include director Grant Petrie, and former director Stewart Goldstone (who is still a director of Homes).
Grant Petrie is due to speak to Waterstone Insolvency today.
In their first report in August the liquidators of Merlot Homes said they did not have enough information to estimate how much was owed, but a list of 50 creditors was attached.
Damien Grant said it was also not yet possible to estimate how much Merlot Investments owed, but it would be in the millions.
