KEY POINTS:
A company which was part of the franchise business of property investment specialist Blue Chip has gone into liquidation with losses of $11.6 million and no prospect of any money for unsecured creditors.
Mide Ltd, part of the New Zealand franchise group of companies involved with Blue Chip,
ceased trading on February 22 and went into liquidation on February 27.
Mide has 95 creditors who supply travel, gourmet food, wine, corporate public relations, accounting, legal services, electricity, postage, valuation, information, couriers, office products, fitness and health, boat charters, computers, furniture, property sales, staff, health insurance, phones, floating entertainment premises, newspapers, recruitment - even water.
More creditors are expected to lodge an interest before the end of the month.
Jonathan Knox, Blue Chip's marketing communications chief, is listed as a creditor. The full list has been posted on the Companies Office website. Most are in Auckland.
Mide is the 20th company linked with Blue Chip to go into liquidation. Last month, 19 companies were handed over to liquidators Meltzer Mason Heath.
Jeff Meltzer, Aaron Heath and Lloyd Hayward have issued their first report showing Mide has such big losses that they propose to dispense with a creditors' meeting. "The liquidators do not consider that the company has any realisable assets." Mide traded from Blue Chip's offices on level 20 of Qantas House on Queen St.
The liquidators want creditors to hurry their claims in before March 28 and said if they were not received by that date, they might be excluded from any distribution.
But the liquidators said a payout seemed highly unlikely.
Mide's directors are Neil Bell and Rikki Flowerday. Its sole shareholder is Leeson Campbell Holdings Ltd, a company closely linked to Auckland law firm Martelli McKegg Wells & Cormack in the PricewaterhouseCoopers tower.
The Companies Office shows Leeson Campbell's shareholders and directors as being Michael Worsnop, Warren Bygrave, Kay Keam, Catherine Atchison, Michael Cormack, Philip Wells, David Towle, Anthony Johnson, Peter Chamberlain, Andrew Steele and Andrew Nicoll.
Martelli McKegg's website shows its partners are Warren Bygrave, Peter Chamberlain, Michael Cormack, Andrew Nicoll, Philip Wells, Mike Worsnop, Andrew Steele, Anthony Johnson, David Towle, Melissa Clark, Kay Keam and Catherine Atchison.
The law firm declined to answer questions on its links with Mide.
Martelli McKegg is also listed as a creditor of Mide.
WHAT NEXT?
* Friday: Liquidators issue first report on 19 Blue Chip companies.
* March 28: National creditors' meeting for all investors. All claims against Mide to be lodged.
