Hilton Hotels Australasia remains committed to the proposed Dunedin Hilton despite "extremely difficult times for development", a spokesman says.
"The management of Hilton Hotels Australasia has been kept informed of the current situation regarding the McEwan Group, the developer of the Hilton Dunedin," Hilton Hotels Australasia vice-president Ashley Spencer said.
Hilton Hotels had been in discussions with the McEwan Group about the proposed Hilton development in Queenstown, but no official announcement about this project has been released.
"These are extremely difficult times for development. Despite this, we remain supportive of the development of a Hilton Hotel in Dunedin and Dunedin as a destination," Mr Spencer said.
On November 21, PricewaterhouseCoopers was appointed by the High Court on behalf of the Inland Revenue Department to liquidate six McEwan Group companies, including a company with a shareholding interest in the Dunedin Hilton development.
Earlier this week, Mr McEwan, of the Auckland-based McEwan Group, told the Otago Daily Times the liquidations issue "does not mean anything as far as the project goes".
However, PricewaterhouseCoopers liquidator Vivian Fatupaito said she met Mr McEwan yesterday to discuss his comments and to request further documentation.
One of the companies to be liquidated, Ro-Ro Investments, formerly known as McEwan Group Ltd (until October 6), is a shareholder in the trading arm of the Hilton development - The Grande Dunedin Ltd.
Mrs Fatupaito said Mr McEwan remains as director of Ro-Ro investments "but has no powers".
It was unclear what impact, if any, the liquidation of Ro-Ro Investments would have until all the relevant documents had been supplied for the month-long investigation, she said.
The lawyer acting on behalf of some shareholders who had invested in the Dunedin Hilton development said he was still waiting for requested information under terms of the general security agreements from Mr McEwan.
Mr McEwan declined to comment yesterday.
