Both Ubco and Ubco Holdings were placed into receivership in January.
At the time, receivers Stephen Keen and David Ruscoe, of Grant Thornton, said “as there isno funding available, the receivers have ceased to trade the business of the companies and all employees have been terminated with immediate effect”.
Their first receivers’ report said unsecured creditors were owed $35.7m, of which $31.5m relates to an inter-company balance owed by Ubco to Ubco Holdings.
Parties with a General Security Agreement, which grants a lender a security interest over the borrower’s assets, are owed $7.1m.
Both companies also owe Inland Revenue $836,545 in GST and PAYE.
No money is owed to staff. The report said that upon the appointment of the receivers, all 31 staff were terminated and had been paid in full before the receivership.
At the time of the receivership, Crown agency Callaghan Innovation told the Herald that Ubco had received an R&D Loan Scheme repayable grant of $400,000.
Potential purchaser emerges
The receivers’ report also provided an update on a potential sale of the business.
“A full sale process has been run by the receivers, which has seen a public and targeted sales campaign run … Multiple parties have advanced to the information stage, with the receivers now advancing the sale process with one potential purchaser.”
Ubco, founded by Timothy Allan, Daryl Neal and Anthony Clyde, first made a splash when it hit Fieldays in 2015 with its first model, an all-electric utility bike that appealed to farmers because of its almost-silent running, which was animal friendly, and the engine with almost no moving parts meant no running costs.
The company set up US market distribution in 2017 and expanded into Australia and Europe in 2018.
Some of the 175 Ubco bikes bought by Australia Post.
Ubco’s collapse came only months after it announced a breakthrough deal with Australia Post for 175 e-motorcycles.
The firm had sold more than 6000 of its bikes worldwide, Ubco chief executive Oliver Hutaff told the Herald in August.
The Herald reported in 2021 how Ubco raised $14m. In January 2023, the firm said it raised a further $35m.
Jubilee Glory Investments – the investment arm of Ubco’s Taiwan-based contract manufacturer TPK – is the largest shareholder in Ubco Holdings with a 23.32% holding, according to the Companies Office.
TPK owns 16.78% of shares while Auckland venture capital firm GD1 owns 9.07%.
Companies Office records show Foster Chiang, Chintaka Ranatunga and Kevin Wang are directors of Ubco Holdings.
Cameron Smith is an Auckland-based journalist with the Herald business team. He joined the Herald in 2015 and has covered business and sports. He reports on topics that include retail, small business, the workplace and macroeconomics.
