KEY POINTS:
A St Laurence investor has challenged the company over its property loans, asking why it didn't halt lending earlier than it did.
Kevin Podmore, St Laurence managing director, posted comments about the poor state of the credit and property market on his company's website.
Investors responded to his
comments after the company's repayment freeze announced last month.
Most posts were favourable but one investor demanded to know why the company did not react faster.
The investor challenged Podmore and his justification of the firm's actions to date and his call for more time to resolve issues.
"Okay, so I have read your blog and still need to know why St Laurence didn't exit its money lending activities sooner?" the investor wrote.
"When was this credit crunch detected and why wasn't lending halted at that time? What happens to the people relying on their investments to make ends meet?
"If you want to be fair to investors, why has St Laurence created hardship for its investors?
"Do you really think the average Joe would even consider investing in St Laurence again; that is, if they ever have the money to, again?
"It's infuriating to think that some property mogul had the opportunity to build their wealth when I ... [am] now suffering for it."
Podmore responded that the credit crunch was a fairly recent event and largely the result of the sub-prime mortgages in the United States which have gone into default.
"The speed with which it affected the supply of cash and the flow-on effect to the property market here in New Zealand took us by surprise.
"To find out more I hope you will be able to attend one of our investor briefings which we are holding around the country over the next few weeks," he wrote.
This month, St Laurence said it would stop repaying principal investments before a vote on a scheme of repayment. Last month, the company said it would stop money lending and was withdrawing its prospectus.
It intends to keep making repayments until the moratorium was voted on but Podmore said the company had halted repayments of principal.
St Laurence is to try to put in place a scheme where its 9000 debenture holders, owed around $240 million, will only get repaid in instalments while receiving interest payments.
On Tuesday at 10am and 2.30pm, St Laurence holds its investor roadshow on the North Shore and at Greenlane in Auckland. The company is running its roadshow from Invercargill to Whangarei.
Podmore said he hoped he was hopeful of having a meeting where investors will vote on the freeze before the end of September.
ST LAURENCE
* Has about 9000 investors.
* Owed $240 million.
* Repayment freeze proposed.
