Resturant creditors vote on debt restructure and compromise

Queenstown restaurant Rāta, one of Go To Collection's four outlets. Picture / Supplied

Creditors of a restaurant chain that includes Madam Woo, Rāta and Hawker & Roll have overwhelmingly voted in favour of a restructuring arrangement that will move the business out of administration.

PwC administrator Malcolm Hollis said 96 per cent of Go To Collection creditors voted in favour of the company’s proposed deed of company arrangement (DOCA).

The restaurant group has been under voluntary administration since last November.

The Herald reported last week that an accepted DOCA would return the company back to its owners and put it in a financial position to repay creditors, at least in part.

Hollis said that today’s meeting, lasting less than half an hour, means “all employees will be paid in full”.

He said unsecured creditors will receive 40 per cent of what they are owed by Go To Collection, secured creditors will receive 45 per cent, while Inland Revenue will receive 50 per cent for its preferential claim.

“Also, any small unsecured creditors owed less than $1000 will be paid in full,” Hollis said.

Fleur Caulton, chief executive of Go To Collection, the owner of Madam Woo. Photo / Supplied

PMSI creditors are those who have security over stock previously supplied to the company, which in this case are goods such as food and wine.

He said the owners of Go To Collection were “very pleased with the outcome”.

Hollis said that while “trading has been very positive” the restaurant group has struggled to find staff in light of industry-wide staff shortages and the company’s position under administration.

“They’ve managed to retain all the staff that have been on board,” Hollis said.

“Part of the problem is attracting new staff. For a company in administration, that’s not easy, particularly when they’re advertising to people offshore.”

Major shareholder Fleur Caulton told the Herald last year that “immigration is a shambles” and prevented staff from entering the country.

Hollis said today, “There’s still a difficult staff shortage.”

The Herald reported last week that all Hawker and Roll outlets and others have been closed, including Hawker and Roll Sylvia Park which “wasn’t trading as well as we’d hoped”.

Hollis said today’s outcome means creditors were getting more than they would if Go To Collection went into liquidation.

“The restaurants are still open - they carry on trading,” he said.

Go To Collection currently has four outlets, including Rāta Dining in Queenstown, Madam Woo in Queenstown and Hamilton, and a central kitchen in Auckland.

The group now has one month to pay back its creditors.

“Once that has happened, it’s effectively it’s done. The company has agreed to compromise with its creditors,” Hollis said.

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