Ben Scott, 31, was placed on the insolvency register on Wednesday after his plans for a million-dollar indoor entertainment venue inside a disused former Air Force hangar at Wigram crashed to the ground.
The large-scale entertainment centre, Benny’s Hangar, would have featured an indoor skate park and a host of other activities, including archery, axe throwing and mini golf.
"Essentially it's an adult's chipmunks as the easiest way to explain it. So the whole idea behind it is all ages of affordable entertainment here in Christchurch," Scott has previously said.
Both of his businesses, Benny’s Barber Shop Ltd and Benny’s Hangar Ltd, were placed into liquidation last month, with Benny's Barber Shop Ltd owing more than $500,000, including an estimated $220,000 to Inland Revenue, and Benny’s Hangar Ltd owing about $400,000 to contractors and suppliers, who were all unsecured creditors.
Scott reached out to the public in a bid to raise $750,000 through a crowdfunding campaign in May.
That failed to reach its goal by a huge margin, resulting in a halt to construction when it was around 80 per cent complete.
The liquidator's report also noted: “The company was operating on a very tight budget, and there had been various cost blowouts."
There were no assets of value to assist in repaying debts, the report stated. However, Benny’s Barber Shop is continuing to trade under a new owner.
Scott previously said on social media it has been "one hell of a 10-year journey” and he'd given the project his all but had come up short.
- By Geoff Sloan, made with the support of NZ On Air
