Tauranga: 17 November 2009
Press release: New website for sales forced by receiverships and liquidations
A new website launched to help Kiwi companies deal with the fallout from the global recession could throw up plenty of
bargains for canny shoppers.
Distressedsales.co.nz is designed to be the one-stop online marketplace for all sales forced on the corporate vendor,
whether through company liquidations, receiverships, repossessions, asset disposal, or simply overstocked or surplus
goods. Mortgagee property sales will also be a key offering of the site in all sectors of commercial and residential.
Dave Macfarlane and Jodie Tipping, who have combined their proven entrepreneurial skills to conceive the new website,
believe the site will soon become an excellent hunting ground for private buyers as well.
“We didn’t set out with this in mind, but it’s clearly going to provide access to products that wouldn’t otherwise be
widely offered in the public domain,” says Dave.
To get the site up and running, the team has contacted insolvency specialists and company accountants across New Zealand
and is advertising its new service to investors and potential buyers.
“They are telling us that distressedsales.co.nz has come along at just the right time. Most specialist accountancy firms
have their ‘hospital wing’ full of sick or dying companies. They need a place to market the recoverable assets in a
professional and profitable manner.”
To help populate the site, all listings on distressedsales.co.nz are free until 1 February 2010. Sellers will then have
to pay a small fee, but it will remain free for buyers.
Dave says the appeal of the site to liquidators and receivers is its wide reach.
“Potential buyers can view the offerings from anywhere in the world. How else could this be possible, other than on the
Web?”
Kenneth Brown, insolvency director at RHB Chartered Accountants in Tauranga, has been given a preview of the site.
“We like what we have seen so far,” he says. “This site has the potential to add real value to our profession. The
ability to work together on the one site will give sellers confidence that they are obtaining fair market value.
“This is an important aspect in distressed sales, where liquidators and receivers have to answer to external
shareholders, secured and unsecured creditors.
“There is also opportunity to list businesses and assets for sale prior to any formal insolvency proceedings, thereby
maximising sale value.”
Distressedsales.co.nz will also handle listings for debt purchasing and for businesses looking for investors to help
them over the hump. As well, it is a resource centre with access to professional advice, web links and information.
“We are really excited by the prospects for this site,” adds Jodie. “It will make a worthwhile contribution to the
business scene and reward the users by returning fair value.
“We have been told the site also has great potential to provide an indisputable steer on where the business economy is
at and what might lie ahead.
“Based on feedback from accountants, we are investigating the viability of creating an index of the site’s activity.
There will always be distressed sales, recession or not, but starting now in the midst of a super slump will give us a
great baseline going forward.”
As a real-time, nationwide repository of what’s hurting businesses, a Distressed Sales Index could become a reliable
data source in the corporate information bank, she says.
The site links sellers and buyers online confidentially. It is not an auction site and takes no commission. Buyers and
investors sign up to receive self-selected automatic alerts of new listings for free.
Both Dave and Jodie are directors of digital solutions company Cucumber, where the website was developed.
Cucumber, based in Tauranga with offices in Hawke’s Bay and Auckland, has created and manages a number of ecommerce
sites for a range of corporate organisations including Panasonic NZ, ZESPRI International, Comvita, Craigs Investment
Partners, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and Orb Communications.
“This is no garage start-up site,” says Jodie.
“We have resourced and researched it thoroughly and have incorporated feedback from accountants, bankers, financiers,
and business and property investors.”
Distressedsales.co.nz launched officially on 17 November.
ENDS