Bust Auckland developer owes creditors $2m

The pandemic, problems getting building contractors, rising construction costs and a financier taking $2 million profits on a loan default were blamed for the insolvency of an Auckland developer which owes Inland Revenue $1.5m.

OD 2019, previously called Oaks Development, was put into liquidation last month at the behest of its sole shareholder, owing unsecured creditors an estimated $2.2m after building new Manurewa apartments.

Botany-based liquidator Grant Reynolds of Reynolds and Associates cited that string of problems as causing the failure. Inland Revenue is listed as a preferential creditor, owed $1.5m for GST and PAYE tax.

Veer Vijay Singh of Flat Bush was the company’s director until December 7 but Warren Edward Brown of Highland Park is now sole shareholder and director.

Creditors said the company built the

25-unit 25-car park Parklane Terraces at

145-147 Russell Rd, Manurewa. The threelevel buildings each had about nine apartments. The project had been finished and people were living there, one said.

“Quite honestly, some of this stinks,” said one creditor. “The whole project was an utter stuff-up. They selected a company that . . . was not suitable to do it.”

Reynolds noted a project financier enforced the default interest conditions of the finance agreement and took total proceeds from a sale of a completed development.

“The estimated profit of circa $2m was lost as a result,” Reynolds wrote.

Singh is a director of Oaks Living companies. He did not respond to inquiries to discuss the insolvency.