Another southern franchise operator of Signature Homes has been placed in receivership; the third franchise operator in Otago or Southland during the past six and a-half years.
With tough times in the construction sector in general, the Southland franchisee of Signature Homes, Cunningham Building and Construction (CBC) was placed in the hands of Christchurch-based receivers last week, but no statement estimating assets or possible liabilities has been made yet.
CBC is now at least the sixth operator of a branded national home franchise to be placed in either receivership or liquidation in Otago and Southland since mid-2006, which has cost unsecured creditors such as suppliers and tradesmen hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In April 2005, Signature Homes Otago franchise holder, Brycar Holdings, who had held the franchise for five years, was placed in voluntary liquidation owing more than a $1 million to 145 unsecured creditors at the time.
The parent Signature Homes took over and completed Brycar's contracts, then in 2007 sold the franchise to Murwil Construction, which in July 2009 was placed in voluntary liquidation owing more than $1.3 million, at the time, to 160 Otago businesses; Murwil's owner was later bankrupted in April 2010 over a $64,000 debt.
It was CBC which stepped in to complete and sign off about 16 homes, along with Signature Homes parent under its Home Completion Guarantee, which had been left in limbo following the collapse of Murwil Construction the year before. CBC took on the Southland franchise in April 2009 and that of Otago in August, the same year.
The latest casualty in Otago was Highmark Homes in Dunedin earlier this month (at liquidation owing $713,600) Smith and Sons in September last year ($348,000) and, earlier, the southern operators of Signature Homes twice, Landmark Homes ($836,000) and Jennian Homes ($581,000).
