Metropolis bondholders told to keep waiting

By ANNE GIBSON

Bondholders in the ill-fated Metropolis apartment junk bond investment have been told to keep waiting until developer Andrew Krukziener sorts out a new prospectus.

The 1700 investors, owed about $24 million, were this week sent a letter from Tower Trust general manager Glenn Clark as trustee, advising them of "unresolved matters".

The investors in Pacific Properties (Metropolis) were due to be paid their original $21 million, plus interest, on May 20 last year. But lack of apartment sales in the $180 million 39-level Auckland tower were cited as the reason for no payment and investors have been waiting since then to see their money back.

Mr Krukziener has promised investors a new prospectus which will outline new terms and conditions and is expected to propose that they agree to leave the original $21 million in the scheme for another three years.

Mr Clark said yesterday that all proceeds from apartment sales in the past few months had gone to repay the ANZ bank and that the main sticking point so far had been lack of information in the new prospectus, outlining new terms and conditions for the investment and meeting the requirements of the Securities Act.

Mr Clark said unresolved matters were wide ranging: "Disclosure issues are all aspects including valuation issues, accounting issues, Mr Krukziener's interests and the relationships between the different companies involved - anything that you would expect to see as a bondholder."

The prospectus has been going between Mr Krukziener and the Companies Office for some time and Mr Clark said he would write to bondholders again when the proposal had been completed. They would then be called to a meeting to decide on the new proposal.