The financial affairs of one of the region's biggest employers, Claymark, have been revealed in a new report. Zizi Sparks finds out how much the company owes.
The country's largest pine product manufacturer and exporter owes more than $50 million to the Bank of New Zealand and other creditors, accordingto the first receivers' report.
Claymark Ltd was placed in receivership on December 4 and Grant Graham, Brendon Gibson and Neal Jackson, of financial advisory firm KordaMentha, were appointed as receivers.
Their first report to the Companies Office shows at that date the Claymark Group owed approximately $50m to Bank of New Zealand as well as $16,826,000 to trade creditors.
Inland Revenue and employees are also expected to file preferential claims. The value of those was yet to be finalised.
Forty-two parties, including sawmills, have registered financing statements against the company.
Claymark's head office on Vaughan Rd. Photo / File
The receivers' report showed the estimated value of the company's assets at the time of the receivers' appointment was just over $38.3m excluding land and buildings. The value of the land and buildings were not disclosed due to "commercial sensitivity".
The assets included more than $19.6m of stock and $16.8m of trade and other receivables with the balance made up by "other assets".
Claymark employs 510 full-time staff and has sawmills, remanufacturing plants and distribution centres in Rotorua, Katikati, Thames and Henderson. Of those workers, 230 are employed in Rotorua and 160 in Katikati.
It was incorporated in April 2001.
According to the receivers, the company has an annual turnover of about $160m.
The company was tipped into receivership after Claymark Group was unable to settle a sale and purchase agreement for the sale of the business and assets to New Zealand Future Forest Partnership.
According to the receivers' report the group came under "increasing working capital pressure to stabilise the business and fund future growth".
"The group was unable to secure additional funding and, as a result, requested its senior debt provider appoint the receivers."
Claymark continued to trade as normal during receivership, with the exception of the smaller Henderson office in Auckland which will close at the end of April.
The closure of the 61-staff site had been planned before the receivership as the lease is due to expire this year.
The receivers' next report is due in six months' time.
Claymark Sawmill in Katikati. Photo / File
Prior to receivership, there had been a conditional sale contract on the business with NZ Future Forest Products Ltd which had fallen over.
At the end of last year, receiver Brendon Gibson said there had been considerable interest in the business since the announcement of the receivership and he hoped to conclude a sale in the first half of 2020.
Last week he told the Rotorua Daily Post the sale process had just started and would take two or three months.
"We've got some interested parties which is good. All the parties we thought would express interest have and more as well."
Gibson said the interested parties were both local and international and they were confident a sale would proceed.
"It will be sold. In what form or how that will take shape? It's early days."
First Union represents about 100 employees at Claymark and Rotorua organiser Phil Graham said he was working with those members.
"We've been keeping in touch with members ... ensuring we're looking after our members," he said.
"They are worried of course but still it's business as normal. The logs are coming in, they are still producing products, at this stage, it's positive for them."
