The owner of Landwork Civil, Nick Ashurst, had police filings made against him during the receivership of a previous business.
The owner of Landwork Civil, Nick Ashurst, had police filings made against him during the receivership of a previous business.
Heartland Bank has taken steps to recover heavy machinery as liquidators probe the collapse of an Albany earthmoving company.
Landwork Civil Limited was placed in liquidation in May, with Waterstone liquidators Damien Grant and Adam Botterill appointed to the business.
According to their first liquidators’ report, the business owes atleast $1.26 million to creditors, including about $65,000 to Inland Revenue.
The company provided earthmoving and excavation services for residential and commercial clients.
Grant and Botterill said there was a disconnect between Landwork’s director Nick Ashurst’s “understanding of the collectability of the debtors and those held by the customers”.
Waterstone liquidator Damien Grant has worked with Landwork owner Nick Ashurst multiple times. Photo / File
“There was also material inconsistency between the nature of what was occurring on the various projects and what Mr Ashurst advised us upon our appointment.”
The report said the business was run by its former directors from April 2020 until February 2024, when Ashurst became the sole director and largest shareholder.
The largest secured creditors included Toyota Financial Services and Heartland Bank, but their debts were not disclosed.
Heartland, which listed motor vehicles as collateral, recently repossessed heavy machinery from the business.
The equipment recovered included a 2021 Sany excavator, a 2019 Cat excavator, a Case bulldozer, a Shacman truck and two Isuzu vehicles.
There is also over $50,000 owed to former employees, who said in extensive discussions with liquidators the business was “run in an unorthodox manner that may have contributed to its insolvency.”
Heartland Bank repossessed heavy machinery from the business, taking no chances after previous misconduct by the owner in a former business. Photo / Google Maps
Second time ‘round
This isn’t the first failed business for Ashurst, who had a previous landscaping business named Horizontal Contracting enter receivership in May 2016.
According to Waterstone’s first receiver’s report at that time, the business accumulated substantial arrears leading to its subsequent default.
The liquidators made note that two excavators, a Mitsubishi truck and various construction equipment appeared to have been converted by Ashurst.
They subsequently filed a police complaint against him, with the final receiver’s report reporting no assets of the company had been recovered.
The liquidators also said settlement discussions with Ashurst failed.
According to the final receiver’s report, the business owed over $260,000 to creditors.
Ashurst also owned shares in another business named Waikari Civil. However, he only held the shares between October 2023 and January 2024.
In the liquidators’ first report on Landwork Civil, Grant and Botterill said they continue to investigate the background of the liquidation.
“We will review the actions of the current director, but also the nature by which Mr Ashurst became a shareholder and director, and what was the correct nature of the financial affairs of Landwork Civil at the time of this transition.”
Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business and retail.
