Speirs seeks liquidation of Alloway’s Allied Capital to recover preference shares

Friday 6th July 2012

Speirs Group, the NZAX-listed food group that sold its finance unit to Allied Farmers in 2008, is seeking to liquidate a company controlled by Allied’s former managing director Rob Alloway to recoup the value of preference shares.

Speirs has made an application to the High Court in Auckland which is due to be heard later this month. It holds 500,000 $1 convertible redeemable preference shares in Allied Capital, whose only asset is a parcel of shares in Allied Farmers.

“We had some redeemable preference shares which are now due for repayment and they haven’t been repaid,” Speirs chairman Keith Taylor told BusinessDesk. “We provided for them some time ago and this is just tidying up.” Speirs got the $1 preference shares when it sold its holding in Allied Farmers to Allied Capital in May 2009.

It has written off the $500,000 book value plus $34,000 in associated dividend arrears. It also holds 2 million $1 subordinated perpetual bonds in Allied Nationwide Finance, which is in receivership.

Taylor said the amount owed on the shares was “more than $600,000 including interest.” Allied Capital had told Speirs it wasn’t in a position to repay the shares, he said. Alloway is listed as the sole director of Allied Capital and as a shareholder along with Map and Associates, a Hamilton-based company owned by Martin Fine, according to the Companies Office.

He mopped up the remaining 19 percent of Allied Capital last year. It had been the largest shareholder in Allied Finance before the deal to buy the Hanover and United loans diluted its holding. Alloway didn't immediately respond to BusinessDesk inquiries. Shares of Speirs last traded at 14 cents and have gained 40 percent this year. Allied Farmers stock was last at 2.9 cents.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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