Millions owed to Bay of Plenty sub-contractors

A series of building company collapses in the past three months has left hundreds of Western Bay of Plenty sub-contractors and suppliers out of pocket for at least $3 million.

Te Puke liquidator Rodewald Hart and Associates is currently investigating eight home building firms which suddenly stopped trading.

The collapses reflected the competitive nature of the industry over the past two years. "There has been a downturn in the market and it has come home to roost," said liquidator Tom Rodewald.

He said his staff had never handled as many building company liquidations at one time.

Tauranga-based Stressfree Project Management, which was involved in a Papamoa subdivision, was put into liquidation on December 22 with losses of more than $900,000, followed by Stressfree Project Management No 2, Superform Building Systems (Central) and Architectural Coatings (Central), formerly Rockcote Architectural Coatings (Central), on January 25.

Preliminary investigations show the last three companies have suffered losses of at least $250,000.

Goldmark Construction went into receivership on January 29, leaving between $400,000 and $500,000 in unpaid bills. Zion Homes, which ceased trading during the middle of last year, went into liquidation in mid-February and its losses are as yet unknown.

Marcel Groot Construction went into liquidation at the end of February, with a creditors' list amounting to $100,000.

The Bays Development Construction Company (formerly Nu Design), which counted Sir Patrick Hogan's Mount Maunganui Marine Parade holiday home as one of its six development projects, collapsed on New Year's Eve with losses of more than $1.2 million.

There are around 100 sub-contractors and suppliers still waiting to be paid for their services to the Nu Design projects which involved four homes in the Tauranga region and two in Auckland.

Only two homes at Welcome Bay and Marine Parade, have been completed. A meeting of Nu Design creditors (the name of the company when they were involved) will be held in Tauranga on April 10.

The local subbies and suppliers were still reeling from the unpaid bills for the Marine Parade Reef apartment complex, developed by the country's fourth largest builder, Auckland-based Hartner Construction which was put into liquidation on Thursday.

A group of 26 creditors, who haven't been paid for The Reef resort job since November, are demanding a total of $693,000, not incuding GST - the largest individual amounts owing are $130,000, $83,000 and $53,000.

Nine Hartner companies went into receivership on December 15, the day the 30-apartment Reef was completed. Twenty-seven apartments have been sold. The development called The Reef Ltd is owned by Hartner Trustees Ltd - and the two companies are not in receivership.

The Hartland Group, Hartner Group and Hartner Constructions Ð with Wayne Hartner and his wife Gayle as directors - were also part of the "the spider web" of companies involved with the development of The Reef.

It was Hartner Construction which asked the sub-contractors to tender for the Reef work.

- BAY OF PLENTY TIMES