Three retail clothing outlets in Queenstown, Mosgiel and Invercargill have been placed in voluntary liquidation, with the total of more than $400,000 owed to 26 unsecured creditors "unlikely" to be repaid.
Nu-Dax Queenstown Ltd, Nu-Dax Mosgiel Ltd and Nu-Dax Invercargill Ltd were placed in the hands of liquidator Trevor Laing and Associates last week with total liabilities of $563,000, including $430,000 owed to unsecured creditors. The total estimated deficit after asset sales is $418,000.
Two Nu-Dax stores in Alexandra and Cromwell are trading under their owner-operators and are unrelated to the three companies in liquidation, Mr Laing said in his first report.
The three liquidated companies are estimated to owe IRD in total $57,000, for GST and PAYE, while Nu-Dax Invercargill's creditors include $3500 in staff wages and holiday pay, a $25,000 secured creditor and $58,000 owed on vehicle finance.
Estimated assets of the companies totalled $145,000 in stock, plant and vehicles.
"The available assets indicate a dividend to unsecured creditors is unlikely," Mr Laing said.
He said the Invercargill outlet was being kept operating as there were two "interested parties" considering taking it over.
Companies Office records show Camille Ainsley, of Cromwell, as each company's sole director, and owning shares jointly with Patricia Ainsley.
Mr Laing understood that for most of the trading life of the Invercargill outlet it had been profitable, but the closure of stores in Queenstown, in January, and Mosgiel last December "impacted detrimentally on the the Invercargill business".
"Creditors who were owed significant debts from the Mosgiel and Queenstown operations progressively stopped supply."
There is little stock, and while plant from Mosgiel, Invercargill and Queenstown was worth $180,000 when purchased, Mr Laing said without selling it in situ it was likely to recover only a "small percentage" of that.
