St Laurence receivers wrap up administration, leaving last loan to liquidator

Tuesday 11th June 2013

St Laurence receivers Barry Jordan and David Vance of Deloitte have wound up their administration of the failed lender, recovering 16.7 cents in the dollar for investors, and are leaving the liquidator to deal with the last loan.

The receivers made their fourth distribution of 2.7 cents to investors last month, meaning about $35.4 million of the $212 million principal owed to about 9,400 debenture holders has been repaid. Jordan and Vance have left one $400,000 loan which is expected to be realised in the next six months with the Official Assignee, who is acting as liquidator, the receivers said in their final report.

"The liquidators may be a position to make one final distribution upon completing their investigation into the affairs of the companies," the receivers said. "This would be subject to ongoing costs and any legal action that may have been instigated by the liquidators."

In January, the Official Assignee said in its first report the lender had notified claims totalling $182.2 million, and would carry out preliminary investigations into the company's affairs.

The return to investors is at the lower end of the 15 cents to 22 cents range the receivers had originally expected, and means there won't be any distribution for some $47.6 million of accrued interest or any amounts available for unsecured creditors including the capital note holders.

Vance and Jordan were unable to get any substantial recovery from former St Laurence boss Kevin Podmore, who put up a $20 million personal guarantee at the time of the lender's moratorium, because he declared himself bankrupt in late December 2011.

St Laurence was sent to the receivers after Podmore went against the trustee's wishes by making an offer to debenture holders to swap their debt for equity in a new company that would hold the remaining assets.

Investors had previously agreed to a deferred repayment scheme, where 70 percent of the firm's debentures would be repaid by 2013 and the remaining 30 percent by 2021. Under that moratorium arrangement, note holders would have eventually been repaid by 2034.

The Financial Markets Authority still counts St Laurence as a continuing investigation. The market watchdog took over the probe from its predecessor the Securities Commission, which was looking into the failure of the country's finance companies.

The receivers' were paid total fees of $1.78 million and disbursement of $156,000 for the three-year administration.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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