Hubbard's Southbury assets worth just $700k, liquidator says
BUSINESSDESK: Southbury Group, the primary holding company for the empire of deceased Timaru businessman Allan Hubbard, has just $700,000 in cash, the first liquidator's report shows.
Liquidators John Fisk and David Bridgman of PwC says the group's investments in other companies and loans with a book value of $195 million are "likely to be of negligible value" in their first report on Southbury.
The group owes some $83 million to the now-defunct South Canterbury Finance, referred to as FCS Loans.
"The company was placed into liquidation as the final step in the insolvency process of the South Canterbury Finance group of companies," the liquidators say.
They were appointed last month after satisfying the High Court that a potential conflict of interest – where Jean Hubbard, Allan Hubbard's widow, engaged PwC for advice – wouldn't be a problem.
In June, Mrs Hubbard engaged PwC to undertake an independent valuation for a proposed asset sale where she and her husband's estate were shareholders.
In a sworn affidavit attached to the report, Mr Fisk said the valuation was limited in scope, was being conducted by a separate team based in Auckland, and didn't relate to Southbury in any way.
"I do not believe there is any potential prejudice to Southbury or its creditors, shareholders or directors by virtue of the valuation PwC is undertaking for Mrs Hubbard," he said.
Messrs Fisk and Bridgman are also acting as liquidators for eight other South Canterbury Finance-related companies.
The Crown has taken over the lending group's wind-up, having clawed back $645 million of the $1.78 billion it paid out to guaranteed debenture holders.
In June, South Canterbury Finance still held assets worth some $350 million after receivers Kerryn Downey and William Black of McGrathNicol sold stakes in Helicopters NZ, Scales Corp, Dairy Holdings, as well as the sale of the so-called good bank and FACE Finance.
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Comments and questions7
It will be very interesting to see if the Hubbard Family are trying to claim the assets and liabilities of Southbury as is the case with the other Hubbard entities. That would be the ethical thing to do wouldn't it?
I await Mark Hubbard to come to the rescue.
As he does not believe in social welfare,I expect that he would approve of the actions of the Hubbard Family.
Hah. Wow Dog Guy, I think this is called an obsession.
And I hope you go about your job with a clearer head than you are able to think philosophically.
I advocate the free, classical liberal society. As part of that, I believe that welfarism has eroded self-reliance and self-responsibility, and is building a violent, give-me-that-I'm-entitled-to-it society. I also know for a certainty that our welfare states were always a cruel, economic illusion, I know this because since Mickey Savage set up the Welfare State as a safety net (not a way of life), governments have had to borrow, because tax could never cover the irresponsible spending of the politicians in chasing the illusion. Governments throughout the West in offering this bribe of a free lunch have now destroyed the major economies of Europe, outside of Germany, and of the US. The previous middle class in Greece, now standing in food queues - and in Spain and Portugal - are feeling singularly unimpressed with their welfare states, because is has brought ruination on their heads. It's the creeping cruelty of forced altruism.
So, that's my position on welfare. If we had followed, since 70 years ago, a classical liberal ethic, conjoined with laissez faire economics, the free west would still be that, the free west, and it would be prosperous.
Where are we .. oh yes.
The classical liberal society works, of course, because it has as its focus the rule of law: namely, protection of property rights, and the policing of the non-initiation of force and fraud principle. So, can you tell me again why I would approve the actions of the Hubbard Family?
(Yes I condemned the way in which the government took Allan Hubbard down: it demonstrated a State with far more power than any freedom loving individual should be happy about. Far more. And Hubbard's perceived ills are nothing compared to out of control government.)
You have a good weekend now.
(Nice to know I'm under your skin though).
Who is Mark Hubbard?
With pwc there as receivers there wont be much for anybody else.
That is exactly correct, receivers should be in dairying. Best darn milkers I've ever seen.
Fair comments Mark. When a 'first world' country has a ratio of two tax payers to one beneficiary, it ain't going to be classed as 'first world' for too long. Good on Paula Bennett for at least making a start to tidy up the social welfare system. Personal responsibility in some parts of society is a foreign concept and has been replaced with a sense of entitlement. This entitlement also crosses into Maoridom in a big way. NZ is on the brink of ruin unless these two issues are addressed and the sooner the better.