Liquidators were appointed for Te Tuinga Whānau Support Services Trust on February 11, 2025. Photo / John Borren
A Tauranga social services trust that once held millions of dollars worth of assets has been put into liquidation owing Inland Revenue about $200,000.
Te Tuinga Whānau Support Services Trust was placed into liquidation last month after closing its doors in July.
Last week some trust goods - office furniture, mattresses, a barbecue - were being sold off in Tauranga’s CBD.
The trust operated for 30 years and provided social services including emergency and transitional housing. It had more than 80 staff and 200 families housed in 2023, NZME previously reported.
It received funding from government agencies under contracts and from private funders for its work.
This included $8.5 million from funders and clients in the year ended June 2023, according to the trust’s most recent available financial statement published on the Charities Services website.
The audited statement reported assets of about $3.2m, against liabilities of about $3.4m, at that time.
On February 11, Paul Manning and Thomas Rodewald from BDO Tauranga Limited were appointed liquidators by the High Court at Tauranga, following an application by the trust.
The liquidator’s initial report to creditors and shareholders was published on March 17.
It said the trust failed as a result of “losing major contracts”.
The prospect of a payout to any creditors without a preferential claim or specific security was “limited”.
Liquidators would review the trust’s books and records, and ensure director/s had complied with their Companies Act duties and obligations, the report said.
They were also investigating “a potential claim against [Ministry for Children] Oranga Tamariki”.
When the liquidation began, the trust had $55,060 in the bank, according to a financial statement based on information provided to liquidators by Te Tuinga Whānau trustees and their advisers.
Inland Revenue was the only listed secured creditor. It had filed a preferential claim of $199,065 for GST, based on “default assessments and a claim for penalties and interest of $12,990.43″.
UDC Finance Limited and Innovative Document Solutions Limited were listed as unsecured creditors. The latter was owed an estimated $19,757 and the former an unknown amount.
Estimates relating to unsecured trade creditors and “potential claims from landlords” were unknown.
The estimated value of tangible assets – “plant and equipment” – was not disclosed “so as not to prejudice a sale”.
The report referred to a potential claim against a “previous funder”.
Vehicles used by the trust with charges over them were returned to the charge-holders prior to the liquidation starting and liquidators were “awaiting details of the sale of vehicles”.
The liquidators said they had engaged a professional to dispose of the “assets of the company”.
Liquidator Paul Manning told the Bay of Plenty Times the investigation into a potential claim against a previous funder related to a government funder.
He was asked for more details about the investigation into a potential claim against Oranga Tamariki and he said prior to the liquidation the trust had been in discussions over what funding, if any, remained outstanding after it ceased operations.
He said a trust property at 9 Anson St, Tauranga, was sold by mortgagee sale prior to liquidation.
“We are currently working with our agent to finalise the sale of remaining assets.”
On March 20 some of the trust’s assets were being sold off at 3 The Strand, Tauranga – a leased site formerly used by the trust.
On social media, Ab Auctions invited people to “Make an Offer Sale on account of Te Tuinga Whānau Support Services Trust (in Liquidation)”.
Items listed for sale included whiteboards, mattresses, computer monitors, filing cabinets, dining tables, chairs, office furniture and stationery and “much more”, the post said.
Bargain-hunters included a Pāpāmoa mother who told the Bay of Plenty Times she regularly went to clearance sales.
She bought a computer desk, two computer chairs, a set of computer speakers, some office stationery, and a large pot plant holder, all for $140.
Former trust chairwoman Donna Gardiner referred Bay of Plenty Times questions to the liquidators.
Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 24 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.