Director Ralph Kruger, of Queenstown-based landscape company Morgan and Pollard, which has worked on Dave Henderson's Five Mile development from 2005 until February this year, has been in talks with several other contractors who he said were also owed money.
They were also looking at joining the liquidation process.
"We're anxious not to liquidate [the companies]. We have been patient and understanding . . . but, because of that, we're likely to join the process, as we don't see any alternative now," Mr Kruger said when contacted yesterday.
A month ago, Smith Crane and Construction, of Christchurch, filed an application in the High Court at Christchurch to have Mr Henderson's Five Mile Holdings and Property Ventures placed in liquidation.
It is believed the crane company is owed about $1.5 million.
Neither a Smith Crane spokesman nor Mr Kruger would reveal how much they were owed, but Mr Kruger said when all the contractor payments were tallied up, the creditors' claims were "likely to be a large number".
Work on the site had stalled in February and a Five Mile spokesman said a fortnight ago work was scheduled to begin again next month.
No-one was working on site yesterday.
Attempts to contact Mr Henderson yesterday were unsuccessful.
Mr Henderson told the Otago Daily Times a fortnight ago two of his Christchurch developments were on the market to release capital, but it was not an indication of financial difficulty.
The developments, Sydenham Central Mall in Colombo St and the Chancery Lane precinct, between the Cathedral and Gloucester St, both have a July 31 deadline for sale.
It was reported at the time the sales could jointly fetch $30 million, but Mr Henderson said none of the proceeds would be put into the Five Mile project.
The plan had always been to sell the Sydenham Central project and the time had come to release some capital there, he said.
Property Ventures, which is majority owned by Mr Henderson through Atlas Securities, had total assets of $263 million as at March last year, which was the most recent set of accounts available.
That included total liabilities of $197 million, of which $147 million in borrowings was due to be repaid within 12 months.
Property Ventures accounts are due to be filed with the Companies Office shortly.
Property Ventures has previously been reported to have financial backing from finance companies Hanover and Dominion. - Additional reporting The New Zealand Herald
