Shape Construction, a Christchurch-modular home building company, has gone into liquidation, leaving behind an estimated $1 million debt to creditors.

The company, which ceased trading in April, was placed into liquidation on 2 May, with Brenton Hunt of Insolvency Matters Limited appointed as liquidator.

According to the liquidator’s first report, the company, established in 2012, succumbed to mounting financial pressures exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Director Toby Van T Veen highlighted that rapid price escalations made several projects financially unviable, while ongoing project issues drained working capital.

A legal dispute with a customer over an unfinished building project further compounded the firm’s woes.

The company’s financial outlook is grim, with a reported shortfall of $1,005,000 to creditors.

Do you know more? Email [email protected] 

Assets are limited, with plant and equipment valued at $20,000 and a motor vehicle expected to fetch $25,000, both subject to secured creditor claims. Preferential creditors, including employees owed $10,000 in wages and holiday pay and Inland Revenue claiming $500,000 for unpaid PAYE and GST, are unlikely to be fully repaid.

Unsecured creditors, owed around $500,000, face the bleak prospect of no dividend, according to the liquidator’s current assessment.

Hunt has begun investigating the company’s trading history and the director’s actions, focusing on potential insolvent transactions or breaches of the Companies Act 1993. Secured creditors, such as United Steel Limited and Mercedes-Benz Financial Services NZ, have until late May to decide whether to reclaim their assets or surrender their claims.

Creditors and stakeholders have until 7 June 2025 to submit claims or provide information about additional assets to the liquidator.

Hunt emphasised the importance of written submissions, noting that undocumented claims may not be actionable.

For further details, view the liquidator’s report on the Companies Office website here.