Intueri hires Grant Thornton to liquidate Australian assets after failing to find buyer

Thursday 6th April 2017

Intueri Education Group has hired Grant Thornton to liquidate its Australian assets after it was forced to close its colleges across the Tasman sooner than it had expected.

The company had hoped to be allowed to run the Australian institutions until the end of the year but the Australian Skills Quality Authority cancelled the registration of Intueri's Conwal & Associates and Online Courses Australia (OCA) colleges on March 29. Intueri failed to convince Australian education authorities to re-register its colleges or renew funding.

"The board has been investigating a number of potential options for the Australian business, including the possible sale of assets and brand names," chairman Chris Kelly said. "Disappointingly none of these other avenues have been able to be realised."

The company's weak financial position meant it was unable to provide financial support for the Australian businesses. It "continues to focus on its New Zealand businesses and the current strategic review, and the liquidation is not expected to have any impact on the New Zealand operations of the Intueri Group," the company said.

Intueri hired High St Capital Partners for advice on options for the New Zealand operations including the sale of assets. The shares last traded at 1.4 cents compared with a 2014 initial public offering price of $2.35. It currently has a standstill agreement from ANZ Bank New Zealand on about $70 million of debt after advising the bank in February that it was in breach of lending covenants as at Dec. 31.

(BusinessDesk)

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