A week after missing a deadline to settle the $10.8 million balance of the purchase of a subdivision near Queenstown, Dunedin businessman Paul Nicholson has still not settled, but contractually has several weeks to do so.
Mr Nicholson's spokesman is confident the deal will be clinched some time this month.
Receivers have confirmed that if settlement is not made, the non-refundable $1.2 million deposit will be forfeited.
Mr Nicholson's latest private investment company, Bendemeer Trustees Ltd, paid the deposit in early May to secure the 24-section Bendemeer development near Lake Hayes, which is in receivership owing almost $40 million. The $10.8 million balance was due on July 1.
Mr Nicholson's previous Dunedin-based private investment company, Hurricane House, is in liquidation owing investors $4.5 million, of which they have so far been repaid about 12.75c in the dollar by liquidators.
Christchurch-based PricewaterhouseCoopers receiver for the Bendemeer subdivision, Malcolm Hollis, was contacted yesterday and confirmed settlement had not yet been made.
However, under clauses in the purchase agreement, Mr Nicholson had "some weeks" to settle.
"We're still waiting for the full settlement to occur," Mr Hollis said.
Mr Nicholson has recently declined to comment and has referred all media inquiries to Christchurch-based Brian Donovan.
He was contacted yesterday and said the deal was still being negotiated, as it was "very large and complex and there were some finer negotiations to do".
When asked if he was confident of the deal going through, he said "Yes. There's no indications to major obstacles ...
"Some time this month there should be a resolution."
On the issue of the non-refundable $1.2 million deposit, Mr Donovan said it was "definitely of concern", but whether a deal was "real estate, a house or development like this", there were contractual principles to be taken into account.
He declined to name or reveal the number of investors involved in the deposit, but said there there were "two outside the circle", meaning two were not former Hurricane House investors.
