Former CBL boss Peter Harris admits continuous disclosure breaches, misleading conduct

Former CBL chief executive Peter Harris, pictured outside the High Court in October 2021. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Former CBL managing director Peter Harris has admitted to continuous disclosure breaches and misleading conduct in a long-running battle with the Financial Markets Authority.

The FMA filed proceedings in 2019 alleging breaches of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013, namely the Continuous Disclosure Proceeding and the IPO Proceeding.

Those alleged breaches relate to CBL Corporation Limited, now in liquidation, Harris, former chief financial officer Carden Mulholland and former non-executive director Alistair Hutchison, who died in December 2021.

The Continuous Disclosure Proceeding relates to CBLC failing to disclose material information to the market during 2017 and 2018.

Today’s in-court settlement with Harris resolves the Continuous Disclosure Proceeding issue.

However, the Continuous Disclosure Proceeding continues against Mulholland, as does the IPO Proceeding brought against CBLC, Harris, Mulholland and the estate of Hutchison.

A trial for these proceedings is set down for June 2024.

Harris has also agreed to an enforceable undertaking, meaning he will not hold any management or directorship positions with any listed issuer or licenced insurer and will not participate in any regulated offer in New Zealand until the final determination by the courts relating to the FMA’s alleged disclosure failures during CBL’s initial public offer.

A penalty hearing before the High Court in Auckland will take place in due course.

FMA head of enforcement Margot Gatland said: “The FMA took these civil proceedings in the public interest to meet our regulatory objectives, including to hold significant misconduct to account by several directors and officers of CBLC.”

“We are satisfied this agreement to move to a penalty hearing, with in-court admissions of contraventions, and the management restrictions to which Mr Harris is now subject, meets our objectives at this time in relation to Mr Harris and the Continuous Disclosure Proceeding.”

CBLC listed on the NZX’s main board in 2015 and was put into voluntary administration in February 2018. It subsequently went into liquidation in May 2019.

The defendants have previously settled separate civil proceedings brought by shareholders and liquidators for a sum of $72.5 million.

Approximately 53 per cent of that settlement sum has been or will be paid to CBLC shareholders who participated in the proceedings. The settlement was entered into without any admission of liability by the defendants.

Cameron Smith is an Auckland-based journalist with the Herald business team. He joined the Herald in 2015 and has covered business and sports.