Is the ‘Queen of Property's' empire crumbling?

Liquidation talk has been swirling around high-profile property investment firm Propellor Property Investments again, but the company's founder denies there is anything to it.

Two weeks ago a notice in the New Zealand Gazette said Leading Edge Group NZ had made an application to put Propellor Property into liquidation, and the hearing was set down for March 14.

It came after several tough years for Propellor Property, which is the flagship business in the Propellor/Metropolis Property Group associated with high-profile Christchurch businesswoman Nikki Connors.

It was the second application to put the business into liquidation in two years, after

Inland Revenue applied to put it into liquidation in May 2022.

But on Tuesday legal advisers for Connors, from Samuel Moore

Barrister and acting on a limited brief, said while the application had been before the court, the judge had raised the possibility the proceedings should be struck out as a result of abuse of process.

The case was now on hold and would not be heard again until mid April, they said.

The Leading Edge Group’s lawyer, Michael Robinson of Turner Hopkins, said he had instructions not to comment on the matter that was currently before the courts.

In a statement Connors, who is the founder of Propellor and styles herself as the “queen of New Zealand property”, said the situation had been exaggerated, and was “akin to a storm in a teacup”.

The proceedings had been adjourned, and concerns regarding liquidation had been addressed, she said. Nikki Connors