Freight transport company goes into liquidation

Malcolm Burns
Malcolm Burns
Another company owned by Otago businessman Malcolm Burns is in liquidation, this time owing more than $893,000.

Titan Bulk Haulage Ltd, described as a road freight transport service, was placed into liquidation in the High Court at Dunedin on May 23 on the application of Inland Revenue.

The official assignee was appointed as liquidator and, in the first report this week, it said the cause of the liquidation appeared to be related to a failure to account for taxation.

The liquidator was conducting searches and investigations through various databases and other avenues to locate any further asset interests that were of benefit for creditors.

Last year, a raft of trucks and other vehicles were repossessed from Titan Bulk Haulage following its failure to remedy defaults under the mortgages.

The Mosgiel trucking company is a subsidiary company of Burns Group 2018 Ltd, of which Mr Burns is the sole director.

It operated as a holding company with passive investment of three subsidiary companies: Titan Bulk Haulage, Otago Excavation Ltd — which was placed in liquidation in 2022 owing more than $3.3 million — and Forest Distribution and Logistics Ltd.

An order was made in the High Court in March last year to place Burns Group 2018 into liquidation. The third report by liquidators Elizabeth Keene and Luke Norman, of KPMG, in March said they were in negotiations regarding the sale of the company’s shares and would provide further details in the next report. Revised total liabilities were estimated at more than $2.1m.

sally.rae@odt.co.nz