National Finance 2000 Ltd and Payless Cars Group

Thursday, 11 May 2006

Receiverships of National Finance 2000 Ltd and Payless Cars Group

National Finance 2000 Limited

PricewaterhouseCoopers partners Colin McCloy and John Waller will this week confirm their appointment as receivers to more than 2000 investors in finance company National Finance 2000 Ltd (NFL).

Colin McCloy said the first step was to confirm how much each investor was owed. “Once we have that information we can provide an indicative level of what investors can expect to recover, and also an indicative timeframe of when that recovery might be made.”

The PricewaterhouseCoopers partners were appointed as receivers to NFL on Tuesday evening by the trustee of the finance company’s trust deed. The company was unable to rectify a breach of that deed which sets out the requirements that the company must abide by when reinvesting investors’ funds.

Colin McCloy said the company had received good co-operation from Allan Ludlow and the staff at NFL. He said the assets had been secured and that employees had been advised of the implications of receivership on the company and on their employment arrangements.

Initial information supplied by the company indicates NFL was holding deposits of $25.5 million on behalf of 2026 investors. The average deposit is $12,586. In addition, NFL has made loans totalling $27.3 million to 3765 individuals or companies. The average loan value is $7251.

Colin McCloy stressed that these figures were based on information provided by NFL. “We haven’t had a chance to verify the numbers independently yet, but they provide us with an idea of the size of the problem,” he said. “We’ll continue to assess and analyse the financial position of the company over the next few days with a view to determining the realistic value which depositors can expect to recover.”

Payless Cars Group

NFL also made several loans to the Payless Cars group of companies. This group’s main entities are based in Auckland and are in the business of selling used vehicles imported from Japan.

The Payless Cars group has incurred significant trading losses over recent times and, following the receivership of NFL, it too was placed into receivership by director Allan Ludlow. On Wednesday morning, Colin McCloy and John Waller from PricewaterhouseCoopers were appointed as receivers to the Payless Cars group.

The vehicles stocked by Payless Cars at the time of the receivership have been secured, and the receivers are exploring the options for their sale.

Colin McCloy said that staff had been co-operative and that PricewaterhouseCoopers was in the process of contacting the creditors of the Payless Cars group to advise them of the receivership.

-ends-

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. About PricewaterhouseCoopers:
PricewaterhouseCoopers (www.pwc.com) provides industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services to build public trust and enhance value for its clients and their stakeholders. More than 130,000 people in 148 countries work collaboratively using Connected Thinking to develop fresh perspectives and practical advice. (“PricewaterhouseCoopers” refers to the network of member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each of which is a separate and independent legal entity.)

© Scoop Media