The co-directors of Britannia, which oversees the Victoria fund through Victoria Properties Consolidated, are Dunedin financial adviser Craig Myles and Roger Bridge of Christchurch; an association spanning at least 14 years.
Mr Myles, responding to written questions he received on Tuesday, did not state what total losses Victoria investors suffered, what the fund's returns were during the past two years or how many people were affected.
Several aggrieved investors have contacted the Otago Daily Times, including one claiming to have suffered a loss of up to $100,000 on investments.
Heartland New Zealand withdrew refinancing arrangements for the Victoria fund in April and is demanding loan repayment.
"This is far from the outcome the manager [Britannia] was working towards for investors and it is deeply regrettable," Mr Myles said.
He said the Victoria fund was established as a structure with an independent trustee to manage the "small proportion", of about $5 million.
He said that after 2007, and before the global financial crisis, the investors were told a date (unspecified yesterday) the Victoria fund would start to be "wound down", a process that was "under way".
However, the prospectus released in late 2006 of the Victoria Property Fund for would-be investors said funds would be used to "revert to a more conservative investment strategy" during the next three to five years.
This was to "hold and manage" 70%-80% of its properties and have 20%-30% of the fund in "development holdings".
The Dunedin branch of the 127-year-old Perpetual Trust is the sole shareholder of Victoria Properties Consolidated Ltd, which oversees the Victoria fund.
Perpetual holds 5,009,922 shares, overseen by several directors.
Earlier this month, Perpetual instructed Mr Myles and Mr Bridge to update Victoria's investors on fund status.
The investor letter from Mr Myles told investors of the "further deterioration" of the fund.
It was "highly unlikely" they would receive any return on their investments, the letter said.
Perpetual was contacted yesterday and asked why it had directed Mr Myles and Mr Bridge to update Victoria's investors.
A Perpetual spokesman said the Victoria fund had been "in a distressed situation for a number of years" and with Heartland demanding loan repayment it "became apparent" the loan could not be repaid or refinanced.
"Our view was that the manager [Britannia] needed to update investors informing them of the latest developments, and their impact on the state of the fund," the spokesman said in a statement.
Perpetual oversees Victoria's compliance with its trust deed, and was closely monitoring Britannia's attempts to realise some value from investments, and would work with Britannia to ensure "all avenues are exhausted on behalf of investors".
• Investors in the Victoria Property Fund can contact Simon Hartley, in confidence, at simon.hartley@odt.co.nz, or direct dial (03) 479-3527.
