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Companies associated with Blue Chip's New Zealand franchisee have gone into liquidation, leaving the financial future of thousands of investors up in the air.
In Australia, Blue Chip Financial Solutions shares have been placed in a trading halt on the ASX until tomorrow.
Auckland insolvency specialist Jeff Meltzer said that he had now been appointed to more companies associated with Blue Chip.
He was already liquidating three Blue Chip property management and rent collection companies but has now taken control of 16 other companies associated with Blue Chip.
Meltzer said neither Blue Chip's New Zealand master franchise company Diem Ltd nor Blue Chip Financial Solutions, its Australian-listed parent company, had gone into liquidation.
About 3000 investors bought more than 2000 properties through Blue Chip, hoping to save for their retirement.
People aged in their 50s were Blue Chip's main clients.
Many had paid off their family home and hoped to use their dormant equity to use as security for a mortgage to fund a second or even third residential property.
But late last year, major payment issues arose and investors have been complaining for many weeks about not getting rent.
Meltzer said the task ahead of him was vast and he might even need more than the five statutory working days to file initial reports on the companies.
