KEY POINTS:
Debenture holders in troubled financier St Laurence will gather in just a few weeks to vote on the repayment plans floated this week.
Chairman Kevin Podmore said yesterday the meeting would be held in early or mid-August and might be in Auckland because that was where many debenture holders lived. But a venue and exact time had yet to be announced, he said, steadfastly refusing to make any predictions about when 9000 investors would get their $240 million back.
"I don't know. It all depends. I can't see the climate improving in one year. Hopefully, it will be two years. I don't know if it will be three years. I would be concerned about making a promise to give it back in 12 months," Podmore said, adding that an investors' letter would be ready today.
Mortgagee sales had been called on two large commercial buildings partly funded by St Laurence, he said.
The Vero office and retail building on Palmerston North's Grey St had already been quit via mortgagee sale. Tenders on the building closed last month. St Laurence had not recovered its money, Podmore said, "but it was not a huge amount". St Laurence held the second mortgage.
Datacom House at 160 Grafton Rd in Auckland was also being sold.
Mortgagee sales were not the best avenue and that was precisely why St Laurence sought a moratorium, Podmore said.
He acknowledged that St Laurence had failed to keep credit rating agency Axis up to date about its problems, even though the financier was contractually obliged to do so.
"My CEO [Peter Garty] got diverted onto other things. It was an oversight, unintentionally and there's no more to it than that. I was very apologetic about it and that's that. I can't say any more than that," Podmore said.
He said an A$10 million St Laurence loan on an Australian project was for Wollongong's Gravity mixed-use project by Belmorgan Group but the A$320 million ($404 million) was its projected end valuation.
"Resource consent and development approval has been given and there are pre-leasing commitments," Podmore said.
Around 45 per cent of the loans had been made to Australian projects, part of St Laurence's diversification in geographic spread of its loan portfolio, he said.
Podmore and partner Mike O'Sullivan jointly own 75 per cent of St Laurence via Auguste Holdings. The remaining 25 per cent is owned by fellow financier Dorchester Pacific which this week said it would stop borrowing and planned to reschedule repayments.
Podmore said Auguste also owned half the Hilton Hotel on Princes Wharf but refused to say who owned the other half because they might not want this disclosed.
St Laurence Property and Finance owns the large distinctive office block at the end of Princes Wharf.
Podmore said this building was valued at $34 million.
WHAT NEXT?
Today: Letter due from St Laurence.
Soon: Date and venue of meeting declared.
August: Debenture holders to meet.