Qtown operators owed ‘millions’

A company linking travel operators with booking agents allegedly owes ‘‘millions’’ of dollars to Queenstown tourism operators.

Former Canterbury businessman Andrew Cox, the managing director of Australian-based Adventium Technology Group Pty Ltd, which owns travel booking technology company Website Travel, says he plans to access the Government’s business debt hibernation scheme to stave off paying debts.

Queenstown tourism operators are among those owed money after already providing services booked through agents using Website Travel, such as Travel Freedom Group NZ (Ltd) and Happy Travels.

Cox has informed operators that Website Travel – which holds onto booking funds until the bookings are completed – was suspending payments to all agents, operators, suppliers and customers.

A statement from parent company Adventium Technology Group Pty said it was ‘‘working hard to pay all our obligations’’ and had been in discussions with the New Zealand Government to get support.

‘‘We are not asking them to pay our obligations, rather we have been seeking support on commercial terms which we will repay over time,’’ it said.

In an email sent to creditors, obtained by Stuff, Cox says the company intended to access the Government’s Business Debt Hibernation scheme, which would give it time to raise $12 million to pay its creditors.

‘‘Government mandated shutdowns have brought adventure and experiential travel to a complete standstill and like Virgin, Flight Centre, Webjet to name a few, we have not been immune to this significant negative impact on our business,’’ Cox says in the email.

Website Travel, which ran on ‘‘a negative working capital model’’, had ‘‘unwound at such a rapid pace’’ because of the Covid-19 pandemic that the company had to raise new capital to repair the balance sheet, he wrote.

‘‘While this announcement accommodates a six-month [debt] hibernation period, we are confident that we will not require anything more than a month or so to meet our obligations, and the proposal to embark on this hibernation exercise will reflect that.’’

In its statement, Adventium Technology Group Pty Ltd said it was changing its processes to hold booking funds separately and "ensure that an issue such as this does not arise in the future’’.