PRINTER'S FAILURE

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 286, 3 December 1930, Page 5

PRINTER'S FAILURE

HEAVY LOSSES SHOWN. PLEDGED PRIVATE ASSETS. CREDITORS SYMPATHETIC. By a unanimous vote, the creditors of Edwin Sayes, printer, of Auckland, who met to-day before the acting- official assignee, Mr. G. W. Brown, agreed that debtor's discharge from bankruptcy should be facilitated. "He has pledged all his private assets to the fullest extent to save his creditors, and his actions throughout have been honourable," said one of the principal creditors. Bankrupt's financial schedule showed a nominal surplus of £5967. Claims of unsecured creditors' totalled £1842 and those of secured creditors £11,735, the value of securities being returned at £19,420. Bankrupt,' who was represented by Mr. Tong, stated that prior to 1926 he carried on business as a printer and publieher under the name of the Reliance Printery. He was in a good position at that time. In July, 1926, he formed the business into a private, company, and got' in extra capital. He was unable to ,get all the capital he wanted, and had to take up the balance of shares td enable the company to be registered, his own interest in the business being taken out in fully paid up shares. At the time of the. formation of the company he had to guarantee its overdraft to the extent. of £8500, and he gave, as collateral security, a second mortgage of £7000 on property in Albert 'Street. The company got into difficulties, and in order to save the position he gave a group of the largest creditors of the company a second mortgage on the mortgage referred to. Owing to. the Company showing a loss, hie interest in it had not been producing anything, and he had been forced to take a reduced salary, whilst, £3 a week was placed to his credit in the company's books. The crisis was precipitated by the mortgagee of the Albert Street property going bankrupt, this rendering his. interest in the mortgage practically valueless. With the exception of income tax, all the unsecured debts were in respect of debts of the company. He had no private creditors. He attributed his failure to the loss of the mortgage, the present slump in the property market, and to general bad times in business. Apart from the loss of the mortgage, he had lost over £8500 in hard casn in properties he owned.

Answering the acting-asaignee, debtor said the- capital of the company was £25,000, a sum of £5000 being put in as goodwill. After the resolution of eyinpathy had been passed the acting-assignee remarked that it appeared to be a case of misfortune. Bankrupt had no liabilities save those connected wdth the printing business. ,

A committee was formed to assist the assignee in realising the estate.