EuroCity Napier liquidation creditors revealed: Who wants a piece of the $1 million plus owed?

The first liquidators report for EuroCity has been released, revealing the company owes nearly $1.2 million. Photo / Warren Buckland

A Napier car and boat dealer in liquidation owes close to $1.2 million to 148 creditors.

The latter include fellow businesses in the auto industry, staff, liquor stores and government organisations.

Euro City Limited, the parent company of car dealership EuroCity and boat dealership EuroCity Marine, went into voluntary liquidation in mid-April.

Licenced insolvency practitioners Tony Leonard Maginness and Jared Waiata Booth, of Auckland-based accountancy firm Baker Tilly Staples Rodway, were appointed as liquidators and released their first liquidators’ report this week.

The report revealed the company owed a total of $1,191,491 as of April 19.

The largest creditor is Inland Revenue, owed $458,036, followed by employees who are collectively owed $334,296. Unsecured creditors are owed $399,159.

EuroCity holds $71,985 in a bank account and is owed $287,525 by trade debtors.

Liquidators are yet to determine if the total value of the company’s assets falls short of its liabilities and whether all debts can be recovered.

Several columns on the statement including inventory, investments and the amount owed to general security agreement holders were marked “TBC”, leaving the total assets and debt unconfirmed at this stage.

Maginness and Booth released a list of creditors with the report. Notable local businesses listed as creditors include:

• LiquorLand Onekawa
• Bay Ford Bay Mazda Napier
• The Bottle -O Onekawa
• Hawkes Bay BMW
• Coffee Solutions
• Armourguard Security
• HB Auto Lock Limited
• Bay Tyres Napier Limited
• Hawkes Bay Towing Ltd
• Bayswater European Limited
• Hawkes Bay Toyota LMVD

Other notable businesses or entities listed as creditors include:

• Inland Revenue
• NZME Holdings Limited
• MediaWorks Radio Limited
• ACC
• Fujifilm Business Innovation New Zealand Limited
• BP Oil New Zealand Limited
• Repco
• Trade Me Motors
• Bridgestone New Zealand Limited

Euro City owner Terry Elmsly in 2017 when the Prebensen Dr had newly opened. Elmsly put the company into voluntary liquidation in April. Photo / NZME

EuroCity owner Terry Elmsly earlier told Hawke’s Bay Today that sale negotiations were in progress for the business, which employs 38 people, that would see most staff re-employed and everybody involved in the business taken care of.

The liquidators’ first report stated they had been advised their appointment resulted from an economic decline in New Zealand, coupled with the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle, which significantly disrupted trading conditions.

The company officially ceased trade on April 26.

“Prior to the Liquidators’ appointment, the company’s director was in negotiations with a prospective investor to acquire a share of the business,” the report said.

“Following the Liquidators’ appointment, the Liquidators entered into correspondence with the same party as well as other interested parties over the potential sale of the Company’s business,” the report said.

Elmsly on Thursday said he had not had a chance to read the report and had no further comment to make.

Creditors must prove their debts or claims and establish any priority by June 10 according to the liquidators.

A second report is due in six months.

Company liquidations in New Zealand are sitting at high levels with Companies Office records showing 236 companies went into liquidation in March, the highest in six years.

James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on environment, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives in Napier. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz