Nosh closed owing Inland Revenue $242k

The former Nosh Food Market store in Glen Innes. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Upmarket supermarket chain Nosh closed its doors owing Inland Revenue $242,223 in unpaid GST and PAYE, according to a liquidator's report.

Inland Revenue launched proceedings against the chain after the company was put in receivership by director Andrew Phillips in July.

After IRD issued the proceedings, the company was put into liquidation.

The liquidators report from RES Corporate Recovery Insolvency showed IRD was owed $242,223 by Nosh, while employees' claims were at $324,200.

Unsecured creditors, including a number of small businesses, were collectively owed $2.4 million.

Receivers were earlier appointed to the failed grocery chain by Phillips who had bought it only five months earlier.

Sydney-based Phillips was the sole director of the company that bought the unprofitable chain in February for $4m from NZX-listed Veritas.

At the time he said he had the backing of a number of wealthy Kiwis.

Only one of these backers was revealed through changes to the Companies Office. He was Jonathan Denize, an Auckland man who has been declared bankrupt twice.

Phillips bought the company with an agreement to pay off the outstanding debt Veritas owned to creditors. Veritas, at that stage, owed $148,150 to IRD.