People attending a public meeting at the weekend vowed to keep fighting to clear the name of South Canterbury Finance founder Allan Hubbard, as receivers reveal they have had 150 inquiries in less than three weeks from potential purchasers of group assets.
About 200 people attended a meeting in Timaru on Saturday and called for a public inquiry into the handling of the receivership of South Canterbury Finance (SCF).
They also demanded Government officials and receivers of the company produce evidence to support claims of wrongdoing by Mr Hubbard.
Meeting organiser Paul Carruthers described the first report of SCF's statutory manager as "inadequate", saying it lacked evidence to back up its claims of inflated investment values and poor governance, an omission he described as "alarming".
The report, by statutory manager Grant Thornton, revealed investments in one company might have been overstated by more than 25% and highlighted the offering of free loans, unpaid interest, accumulated losses, poor governance and claims cash balances as stated to investors did not exist.
Mr Carruthers said in an interview there was no supporting evidence, yet Mr Hubbard's reputation was being tarnished in a Government-sanctioned process which should concern all New Zealanders.
He claimed there were conflicts of interest and a lack of transparency.
The meeting was called to inform investors in SCF and Aorangi Securities what had been happening since Mr Hubbard's assets were placed under statutory management on June 20.
There had been a mountain of information released, the quality of most of which was questionable, he said.
The meeting was also called to remind investors they still had the power to shape public opinion.
Receivers Kerryn Downey and William Black from McGrathNicol, said the expressions of interest in buying SCF assets had been both local and international.
In a report on the receivership released late on Friday, Mr Downey said there had also been progress in getting agreement on a retention package for both senior management and staff, and he praised their support, saying it had been invaluable.
"Retaining those key people is essential if we are to continue to maintain ongoing business operations, meet customer funding requirements and preserve the value of the SCF group assets."
Mr Downey said the receivership process had entered another phase, with investment banks invited to make proposals on how they could assist with the sale of assets.
