Taxi firm creditors may not get their money back

Southern City Taxis’ office in Kaikorai Valley Rd in Dunedin last year. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON
Southern City Taxis’ office in Kaikorai Valley Rd in Dunedin last year. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON
Creditors of a Dunedin taxi company have claimed they are owed nearly $700,000 and liquidators say it is unlikely many will get their money.

In July last year, A.G. Ware Ltd, which traded as Southern City Taxis, was liquidated in the High Court at Dunedin on application of Inland Revenue for overdue GST and employer taxes as well as associated penalties and interest.

KPMG’s Elizabeth Keene and Vivian Fatupaito, who were appointed joint liquidators, have released the company’s second liquidation report.

The company’s preferential unsecured creditors — those deemed a priority — had claimed they were owed about $283,346, but it was unknown yet whether they would get any money.

Non-preferential unsecured creditors claimed they were owned about $391,000 and it was unlikely they would get their money, the report said.

In the six-month period since the last report, one of the company’s vehicles was sold to someone who had been interested in buying it prior to the liquidation.

The liquidators then sold the remaining vehicles, which were subject to an ANZ loan, for $16,800 at an auction.

As the liquidators’ costs in dealing with the assets exceeded the amount realised from the auction, the bank did not get any of its money.

The sale of the company’s assets was delayed and negatively affected by the Level 4 lockdown in August last year, the report said.

Southern City Taxis’ leased equipment, subject to Finance Now Ltd and SmartMove Ltd loans, was recovered by agents before the sale of the company’s vehicles.

Liquidators were in the process of recovering payments from the company’s debtors, which was expected to be concluded over the next two or three months.

To date, the liquidators have incurred fees of about $58,400.

It was not possible to provide an estimated date for the completion of the liquidation, the report said.

-- riley.kennedy@odt.co.nz

 

 

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