Terry Serepisos bankrupted

UPDATED: Troubled property developer Terry Serepisos was ruled bankrupt in the Wellington High Court this morning. But he can apply to annul it if money arrives from overseas this week.

The application was brought by South Canterbury Finance (SCF) and supported by Equitable Mortgages.

SCF was owed $22,461,165.76 by Mr Serepisos, the court was told.

Mr Serepisos' lawyer, Neil Billington QC, asked for an adjournment until Friday, saying money was due in from overseas but Associate Judge David Gendall denied the bid.

A credit facility had been arranged with a Hong Kong merchant bank, Mr Billington said, but the money would not clear In New Zealand until the middle of this week.

He produced a letter from an Auckland solicitor who was satisfied the bank that had offered funds to Mr Serepisos was a credible operation.

Lawyers for both SCF and Equitable Mortgages opposed the application for adjournment on the grounds that promises had been made in the past about payment of the debt that had not been kept.

In making his judgment, Associate Judge Gendall noted that when the matter was last adjourned on August 29, it was on the grounds that a meeting be held between Mr Serepisos and his creditors.

That meeting was not held, Mr Billington said, because Mr Serepisos was confident that he could secure a loan so his creditors could be repaid.

However, Associate Judge Gendall said that was an “unsatisfactory” situation, given that the creditors meeting was the reason why he had granted the adjourment.

He said the 11th hour nature of Mr Serepisos' latest application for adjournment, which the court only received today, was also “unsatisfactory”.

Given the overall situation, it was time for the official assignee to investigate Mr Serepisos' situation and that he be bankrupted, Associate Judge Gendall said.

He said if the money did come through from overseas then Mr Serepisos could apply to annul the bankruptcy.

Mr Serepisos did not appear in court. Costs were awarded to SCF and Equitable Mortgages.

The developer assembled a large and highly leveraged property empire in Wellington over the past decade.