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Gulf Harbour Country Club owner Greg Olliver has lost an appeal against his prohibition from being a company director, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment confirmed on Thursday.
The Deputy Registrar of Companies put a four-year ban in place on October 20, 2021, but the High Court later amended that to three years, citing errors in the registrar’s decision. The prohibition is therefore due to expire in a little over three months’ time.
Dismissing Olliver’s appeal and upholding the High Court ruling, Court of Appeal Justices French, Palmer and Cooke stated on May 22, “This case involves a reasonably clear case of mismanagement [under section 385 of the Companies Act 1993], essentially involving the abuse of corporate limited liability”.
Olliver, who was sole director a company called BBG Holdings Limited at the time, “structured a highly speculative attempt to rescue a subdivision development”, MBIE said.
“However, BBG had no assets or assurance of support to enter into a contract to start work on the subdivision which it had no legal title to. Instead, BBG had a contract to acquire part of that subdivision which was conditional upon the removal of caveats. That condition could not be fulfilled.”
Olliver bought the GHCC in 2021. It is owned by Long River Investments, which in turn is wholly owned by Olliver’s Phoenix Trust Ltd.
Christchurch-based accountant Wayne Bailey is sole director of both Long River Investments and Phoenix Trust Ltd, positions he took up on October 21, 2021 – the day Olliver’s ban took effect.
According to the Companies Register, Bailey that same day assumed sole directorships of at least 22 Olliver companies, including Whangaparāoa Holdings Ltd, GHCC 2016 Ltd, Gulf Harbour Equipment Ltd, Dormant Five Ltd, Leefield Vineyards Ltd, Landco Rural Trust Ltd, Leg Investments Ltd and Ollie & Co.
The GHCC has been closed since Bailey last July told members it was being closed with immediate effect followed “two years of unsuccessfully looking for ways to make the running of the club financially viable”.
