Liquidation of Oceanside Homes, builder of Tauranga: who claims the $518,000 owed?

The insolvency of Tauranga Oceanside Homes builder left two homes unfinished and businesses and traders owed more than $500,000, according to its liquidator.

A list has been published of those claiming this money and
he names many Bay of Plenty businesses.

Oceanside, whose sole manager is Austrian-born quantity surveyor Claudia Fischer, is in the hands of local accountant David Thomas who said investigations were needed into the two unfinished homes in Ohauiti.

He wondered who could take on the projects and finish them for the owners.

Oceanside is half owned by Tui Bird Trustee, 49% by Claudia Fischer with HTT No 10 and 1% by Fischer. Tui Bird Trustee is owned by Regan Thomas Brown, of Hamilton, and Sarah-Jane Young, of Pirongia, according to Companies Office records.

“The company director indicated that the reason for the failure of the company was a historic debt inherited from the previous owner,” Thomas wrote.

“During the Covid period, company revenue and fixed price contracts do not appear to have been sufficient to cover overhead costs,” Thomas wrote.

He predicted a significant loss of the business.

“The sale of the company’s assets will be insufficient to pay a dividend to creditors,” Thomas wrote in his first report released Wednesday.

He estimated the shortfall at $518,537, of which $448,000 belongs to trade creditors, the Inland Revenue owns PAYE tax of $69,000 and GST of $19,000 and wages are due by 1 $395.

On the positive side of the balance sheet, the company has fixed assets of $10,000 and accounts receivable of $10,000, or $20,000.

Tauranga ITM Building & Fencing Supplies, Carters Building Supplies, Plumbing World, Tile Warehouse, Central Foundations, Plumbing World, NZ fuel Cards, Plytech International, Carpet court Retailing and Gerrand Floorings are on the list of secured creditors.

Unsecured creditors are, unfortunately, a much longer list.

Suppliers feature prominently and include Heirloom Kitchens, garage door company Dominator Tauranga, Morgan Steel, LouvreTec, high-end luxury specialist Premier Appliances, See Through Glass BOP, Simons Flooring Design, Viridian Glass, Tile Depot, Tilemax BOP, Stoneworks, Rapid Rent A Fence, iron roofing, Fisher windows, FD kitchens, Prestige toilets and Premier showers.

Commercial companies on the list include AJ Electrical, Foleys Plumbing, Electricians BOP, Master Plumb & Gas and NZ Wrap and Nets.

Professional services companies are also appearing: BDO Tauranga accountants.

The media are no exception either: Mediaworks is an unsecured creditor.

Chinese-owned Envirowaste appears, along with RFT Engineering, SED Consultants, Stash It Storage.

Inland Revenue would have preferential claim for PAYE and GST, Thomas said.

National building and construction spokesman Andrew Bayly said he was concerned about the failure and the ramifications for the Bay of Plenty.

He worries about pressures on the multi-billion dollar construction sector and questioned Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr on Thursday before the Select Committee on Finance and Spending.

“Everyone knows we accept up to 50,000 homes. But people can’t finish all of those homes,” Bayly said, citing the nationwide shortage of Gib panels through Fletcher Building’s Winstone Wallboards, which owns about 93% of the market.

“Builders get to the stage of putting the plasterboard in and when they can’t get it it means they just can’t finish the house. All the houses should be made available – they don’t can’t put the Gib on the wall or get vitals.

“We’re now building up a backlog of unfinished homes. But also people won’t move forward because prices are going up. I think we’re overestimating the number of homes being completed,” Bayly said.

A Tauranga Business Chamber profile on Fischer said she was Austrian-born, became CEO of Oceanside last June, but “has been a highly valued member of the team since 2018”.

She left Austria at the age of 18″ to discover the world and lived in seven different countries. I loved New Zealand the most, so it became my home 24 years ago. Previously, I owned a construction company with my ex-husband and was mainly involved in the administration of the project.

“Later, I started my studies, where I covered three different areas: accounting, business and construction management. I then became a qualified quantity surveyor,” Fischer told the chamber.

Oceanside has built new architecturally designed homes and renovated existing ones, she said. He made eight to 10 houses a year, “focusing on quality of construction rather than quantity”.

She also cited issues in the profile: “The current supply issues are extremely challenging, as is the lack of skilled trades people. It’s not easy, but we’ve been working closely with our business partners and our customers to set realistic expectations. Additionally, we try to use New Zealand-made products as much as possible and order items well before we need them,” Fisher said.