Chateau decision 'by December 20’

Press, 9 December 1976, Page 1

Chateau decision 'by December 20’

A decision on the sale of the three Chateau Commodore hotels to the Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust is expected now by December 20. The cases associated with the hotels and the companies connected with them seem likely to be adjourned when they come before the Christchurch Supreme Court tomorrow. A meeting of the creditors of H. P. Holt, Ltd, the construction company which built the hotels, yesterday voted unanimously to seek a further adjournment of the cases. The vote was taken on the understanding that a decision on the sale, one way or the other, would be known by December 20.

If the cases are adjourned, it will be for the ninth time — they first came before the Court almost a year ago, on December 12, 1975. About 40 people attended the meeting yesterday, in the Great Hall of the Chateau Commodore in Christchurch. They were told by the chairman of the creditors’ committee of H. P. Holt, Ltd (Mr M. B. Restall) that a meeting in Blenheim on Monday of the creditors associated with the Blenheim Chateau Commodore had agreed also to seek a further adjournment.

Mr Restall told the Christchurch meeting that he had been told by Securitibank, Ltd that a

decision on the sale of the hotel to the Nauru Trust was expected by December 20. It was the Merbank Corporation, Securitibank’s lending arm, which financed the hotels’ construction.

If the Nauru trust decides to buy the hotels, then a trust fund will be set up to deal with the claims of the unsecured creditors of H. P. Holt. Securitibank representatives recently held what they termed “final” discussions with the Nauru trust, and it is now said that the deal is almost ’certain to go through. If it does, it will end more l5 months of speculation on the future of the hotels.