A new administrators' report is out on Whakapapa and Turoa ski fields. Photo / NZME
In great news for skiers, administrators running the company which operates New Zealand’s two biggest ski fields say the “intention” is to open those for this winter’s ski season.
PwC’s Richard Nacey and John Fisk are administrators of Ruapehu Alpine Lifts which operates the financially troubled Whakapapa and Turoa ski areas on the mountain.
They said in a report just out that preparations were being made for this winter’s ski season.
New trade agreements had been entered into with suppliers which had allowed the company to carry out necessary maintenance and preparations throughout the summer.
“The process of continuing to trade the business saw the administrators contact all key stakeholders of the business advising them of the appointment and requested their ongoing support during the administration process,” Nacey and Fisk’s report said.
“New trade agreements were entered into with relevant suppliers which allowed the company to carry out the necessary maintenance and preparations through the summer months with the intention of opening the mountain for the 2023 winter season.”
The administrators have taken operational oversight of the company, been monitoring trading performance and approving trading obligations, addressing employee, landlord and other creditor issues, meeting potential buyers and carrying out all administrative and statutory obligations, the new report said.
Yesterday, the Companies Office showed they had released their first administrators’ report dated June 6. That covers the period from October 11 last year to April 10 this year and all the administrators have done during that time.
That showed a total $81.6m debt - a much higher amount owed than reported by the media lately of only around $45m.
The largest sum is an estimated $44m owed to 15,043 people who hold ski passes. A further $37.3m is owed to 37 secured creditors and $300,000 is owed to one priority creditor.
Last October, the administrators were appointed to the company which owns assets at the two ski fields, has licences from the Department of Conservation to run those operations as well as relationship agreements with the local iwi allowing it to operate those fields as major national and international attractions.
The recent addition of the Sky Waka gondola allowed Whakapapa to operate as a key attraction during the winter as well as summer seasons, Nacey and Fish noted.
Nacey and Fisk decided late last year they would adopt a value-maximising strategy for all creditors and the way to do that was to continue to trade operations through the few days remaining of the 2022 winter ski season and into the summer months.
Payments to creditors who are employees are $622,862, amounting to 100 cents in the dollar, the first report showed. These are priority creditors.
As for a watershed meeting, Nacey and Fisk’s report said they had been granted an extension for that to May 9 but a further extension to June 13.
The report thanked the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s regional and economic investment unit, Kanoa as well as the ANZ Bank “with a total facility of $10.5m being made available to the administrators to draw down for approved expenditure”.
Last month, the Herald reported two private organisations being lined up to take control of Mt Ruapehu’s two ski fields.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment will make recommendations to Cabinet for one operator to get Tūroa, while the other will get Whakapapa, Newshub reported on May 11.
Four bidders were vying for the contracts, but according to Newshub, MBIE has chosen Pure Turoa, a company funded by developers Cam Robertson and Greg Hickman, to manage the Tūroa site.
A private equity company with connections to South Island businessman Tom Elworthy and former RAL CEO Dave Mazey would likely acquire Whakapapa, that article in May said.
RNZ reported in April that the future of the troubled company was still up in the air - but whether it reopens this season or closes permanently, it is likely to cost taxpayers.
After a couple of poor seasons and Covid-19 disruption, the company, which ran the skifields went into voluntary administration late last year.
Ruapehu Alpine Lifts remains in voluntary administration, but in March it was announced that it will begin selling the passes soon.
The news comes after a period of uncertainty for the region, including the abrupt closure of Chateau Tongariro last month.
Fisk said he is hopeful that after years of Covid and weather disruption, the ski season on Mt Ruapehu will be a success.
The company’s future would become clearer following a meeting with creditors that must be called by early May, it was reported on March 7.
“I’m incredibly optimistic about [the season]. I think there’s a lot of goodwill out there to support this. I don’t think that the Government would have funded us unless they recognised that this was important as well,” Fisk said three months ago.