Blue Chip's Bryers up to old tricks

Mark Bryers is understood to have made no contributions to his bankrupt estate, nor paid a $37,500 fine imposed on him in Auckland. Photo / Jason Dorday

Undischarged bankrupt Mark Bryers is involved in a new Blue Chip-style property scheme in Australia that has produced complaints to the Herald and the government agency that prosecuted him last year.

Bryers is acting as a "financial adviser" to unwitting Australian property investors in a deal with many hallmarks of the disastrous Blue Chip operation that collapsed owing 3000 investors $80 million.

Bryers was bankrupted in October 2009 owing personal creditors $230 million and last year was banned here and in Australia from acting as a company director, and convicted of 34 financial-reporting breaches.

In Australia, he is being touted to clients of an accountancy firm as a financial and property expert.

Bryers is operating with Australians revealed by the Weekend Herald last year to be backing him and to be connected to the last surviving Blue Chip company now called Northern Crest Investments.

Northern Crest is seeking to relist on the Australian Stock Exchange after being delisted for failing to file financial statements.

An investor, who asked not to be named, gave the Herald details of an apartment investment that Bryers organised for her and her partner which has left them without rental income from their unit, despite it being tenanted, and with no equity left in their home. He was acting as their "investment adviser".

According to an appraisal by Colliers International, their apartment at Cotton Beach in northern NSW would need to be listed about A$80,000 less than the A$546,000 they paid for it in September.

Colliers also warned that there had been little interest in five similar re-sales it had on its books.

The couple received rent from their unit for only the first month. They said they have since learned that subsequent payments had been paid to the developer under an agreement it had with the unit's vendor a Bryers associate.

They estimate they are owed A$6000 on a rental guarantee they believed was part of the purchase agreement.

The woman investor said they had about eight meetings with Bryers in the Brisbane offices of their accountant, who had recommended him.

Bryers would travel from Sydney and the woman said their accountant told them he was also travelling for work to Hervey Bay (north of Brisbane), the Gold Coast, within NSW and to Perth.

The investor said Bryers failed to tell them of his Blue Chip failure or that he is a banned director on both sides of the Tasman, or that the property deal he got them into was with parties associated with him and Northern Crest.

"Something in my gut made me Google him," she said. "I had a gut feeling after they rushed this sale and Mark wanted us to purchase another [unit in Nelson Bay, north of Sydney] just before Christmas."

She said she was shocked by what she found. "I did not know any of Mark's history. He makes you feel like he's your best friend. Mark tells us every time he sees us that he is going to clean up our affairs and get us to retirement sooner."

When, prior to purchase, National Australia Bank valued the unit at A$480,000 and would advance only 80 per cent, she said Bryers assured her the apartment was worth much more and told her they were lucky he had a "friend who owes me [Bryers] a favour" who would lend them the balance.

That mortgage was with Territory No1 Ltd, owned by Canberra businessman Robert "Bob" Hughes.

The investor then discovered that the vendor of their apartment, B.O.B. Ltd, was also owned by Mr Hughes.

The Herald last year reported that another of Mr Hughes' companies, Columbus Property Marketing, was in business with Northern Crest, having entered into a licensing agreement.





Northern Crest also has a licensing agreement with Rutherford Franchising. A sister company called Rutherford Capital has been involved in the investors' purchase at Cotton Beach.

The chairman of Northern Crest is Marc Wilson, a Canberra accountant and principal of WWP Accountants and Business Advisers. Mr Wilson was appointed an independent director of Northern Crest in May 2009.

Mr Wilson is also a director, with Mr Hughes, of Territory No1.

Bryers and Mr Hughes appear to have close business links. Shortly before his bankruptcy, Bryers transferred three firms to Mr Hughes.

According to a probation report filed with the Auckland District Court at the time Bryers was convicted, Northern Crest was paying him up to $12,000 a month as a consultant. It also paid the rent for his apartment overlooking the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House where he was living as late as last month.

Neither Bryers, Mr Hughes nor Mr Wilson responded to messages left by the Herald in time for this article.

Last year, Mr Hughes told the Herald Columbus had paid a licensing fee "to work for Northern Crest".

Of his relationship with Bryers, he said he had met him in 2009. "He is not an employee of ours and that is probably as far as I would like to go."

The investors said they did not pay Bryers and that Bryers did tell them he would receive a fee for their Cotton Beach purchase.

As a result of the investment, the couple have had to refinance their home and say there is now no equity left in it. "This has caused us tremendous financial pressure."

The woman investor said Bryers had told them he was negotiating with Mr Hughes to offset rental arrears against their loan, and for rental to be paid to them each month. But nothing was put in writing.

Lawyer Paul Dale, who has represented many unhappy NZ Blue Chip clients, said the scenario described by the Australian investors "does sound very familiar. Unless regulators take active steps, the gullible will continue to be hoodwinked".

The Ministry of Economic Development has also received information about Bryers' activities in Australia. Official Assignee Les Currie said anyone wanting to complain about them should phone the Insolvency and Trustee Service through its free helpline (0508-467-658) "and we will investigate all complaints".

Bryers comes up for discharge from his bankruptcy in October. He is understood to have made no contributions to his bankrupt estate, nor paid a $37,500 fine imposed on him by the court in Auckland.