Waikato Cherry Festival organisers hope to get loan to repay $200,000 debt

Waikato Cherry Tree Festival collapsed in its third year after it failed to secure a resource consent to hold the 10- day event. Photo / Supplied

The company behind the failed Waikato Cherry Festival owes more than $200,000 including $80,000 to ticket holders after the company was put into liquidation a day before it was due to start.

NZ Pure Tours owes $94,385 to creditors with $80,000 of that owed to those who bought tickets to the event, according to the liquidator's first report. The other $14,385 is owed to a number of creditors including ACC, IRD, BNZ and Waikato District Council.

It also owes a further $121,734 in loans to the directors' other companies.

The 10-day event was cancelled after the organiser NZ Pure Tours was issued an abatement notice a day before the event estimated to attract 3000 people was due to start.

The organisers said the notice made it "practically impossible" to run the festival and attendees were told it had been cancelled on the same day.

But NZ Pure Tour director Dong (Anne) Cao, who ran the event with husband Paul Oulton, is still hopeful of getting a loan to repay all the money it owes and will then apply to the High Court to have the liquidation terminated.

Liquidator Imran Kamal of Wellington-based Liquidation Management said the director had expressed his interest in trying to repay everyone, but it came down whether they were successful in getting a loan to cover the $216,119 debt required to pull the company out of liquidation.

Kamal said he had been in contact with the 800 ticket holders and his advice was for them to hold fire for now.

"We will be communicating to them once we are in a better position to see whether they would be paid fully, or partially or any amount once we know the position of the shareholders and whether they are willing to terminate the company in liquidation."

He was not sure when he would know whether the company had been successful in raising the money.