Veritas failed to disclose that to retain ANZ's support in September 2016, it had agreed either to provide the bank with an unconditional contract to sell Nosh by January 15 this year or, failing that, evidence it had closed the high-end supermarket chain by March 31.
The firm eventually disclosed the undertakings on December 14 last year "following engagement by NZX Regulation". In the event, it agreed to sell Nosh to Gosh Holding for $4m last February but ended up in dispute with Gosh over breaches of the sale agreement. It had taken on a $5m funding line from ANZ to buy Nosh in 2014 but struggled to turn it into a profitable business.
According to their latest accounts published in August, Veritas repaid $4.8m of bank debt in the 12 months ended June 30 after ANZ leant on it to map out a strategy to sell unprofitable businesses and review its capital plan. That included the sale of the upmarket Nosh supermarkets and the company-owned Mad Butcher stores.
Veritas's results were at the upper end of guidance, with revenue falling 7.8 per cent to $30.8m. It narrowed its net loss to $793,000, or 1.83 cents per share, in the June year, from $4.6m, or 10.6 cents, a year earlier.
The board prepared its annual accounts on a going concern basis, though it acknowledged that relied on finding alternative funding sources within the bank's timeframe or winning a reprieve from the bank.