Sale price of Springpark revealed

Receivers sold the Springpark property development in Auckland for $25 million, their latest report for Tony Gapes’s failed company Panama Road Developments says.

The development was acquired in March by Wilshire Group, controlled by Kong Kong-based businessman Vincent Wan, for an amount undisclosed at the time.

Panama Road Developments was placed in receivership in December by secured creditor Koi Structured Credit, a Singapore-registered unit of investment firm Olympus Capital Asia.

At the time of their appointment, receivers Richard Simpson and David Roscoe of Grant Thornton said Koi was owed $26.8 million.

So far, Koi has been repaid $26.7 million and, as of June 2, was still owed $3.3 million, including interest and penalties, receivers said.

Receivers said they were dealing with some legal claims, including a contingent claim from the building contractor arising from the cancellation of the building contract. The claim relates to $1.2 million in a trust account, receivers said.

Civil works engineers are also asserting a claim against the company.

Receivers said they were aware of another claim against the company being pursued by a former financier. “This is subject to litigation which is being defended by the director,” they said.

Panama Road’s director is Mr Gapes.

Unsecured creditors are still owed $1.4 million.

Liquidators Iain Shepherd and Heath Gair were appointed to the company in April. In their first report they said they would review the sale process undertaken by receivers “and will conduct an investigation of the company’s books and records to further establish if there are any potentially voidable transactions that require investigation, and further to ensure that the directors have complied with the duties and obligations imposed on them under the Companies Act 1993.”

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