Lodge future tied to fortunes of Harley Chambers?

Press, 8 April 1978, Page 1

Lodge future tied to fortunes of Harley Chambers?

By

FELICITY PRICE

Lodge Inns, Ltd, the lessee of The Lodge at Hanmer Springs went into receivership last Tuesday. The receiver has sold the lease. Becans® Lodge Inns Chambers. Ltd. the be at stake.

A petition to wind up Harley Chambers was filed in the Supreme Court on January 31 by the solicitors for Quill ’Morris. Ltd. and was first heard on March 1. Since then, the petition has been adjourned at the request of the Harley Chambers’ solicitors on the ground that refinancing from Auckland was being arranged. Six other parties have since supported the petition. although two of them have been disputed. It was said during one hearing in the Supreme Court that the total indebtness of Harley Chambers was about $50,000.

The winding-up petition has been adioumed until April 12

The Lodge lease was sold for an unspecified sum on Tuesday to two Auckland businessmen who plan to live at Hanmer Springs with their families from next month. The 120-bed Lodge has a Government

valuation of $BOO,OOO and was, when sold, in the middle of a $250,000 renovation scheme. Mr J. A. Hanna, a former Auckland architect, is a major shareholder and director of both Lodge Inns and Harley Chambers. His company took over The Lodge in July last year, intending to turn it into a luxurious businessmen’s retreat and conference centre.

For the last few months, Mr Hanna has been living at The Lodge and running it. The new leaseholders moved in on Tuesday and, although Mr Hanna has moved out of The Lodge and is now in Christchurch, he was unavailable for comment yesterday. Mr K. E. Williams, an Auckland company director, also once held a major shareholding in both companies, but when approached recently in Auckland said that he had withdrawn from them some months ago and “no longer had anything to do with Mr Hanna’s companies ” This leaves Mr Hanna and Ms Pamela Bozoky as the two remaining directors of Harley Chambers. Ms Bozoky also had an interest in The Lodge, and for some time helped Mr Hanna in the running of it. Mr K. N. Curnow, a

Christchurch accountant, who has been appointed receiver of Lodge Inns, said yesterday that he had no idea at this stage how many creditors there were of The Lodge nor what the total indebtedness might be.

Mr Curnow, who was official receiver of Hanmer Properties, Ltd — the previous owner of The Lodge before Lodge Inns, who also ran into financial difficulties — was responsible for the receivership sale of The Lodge on Tuesday to the Auckland firm of Lorramac Holdings. Ltd. Harley Chambers has been used as collateral for at least one of the trading debts of The Lodge. Meat for The Lodge worth $1551 has been charged to Harley Chambers . nd is the subject of a default summons by a local meat wholesaler in the Magistrate’s Court. At the same time, another meat wholesaler has successfully sued Mr J. A. Hanna for meat for The Lodge worth $lOl5, charged in his own name. Harley Chambers has a 1974 Government valuation of $390,000. Since the building was taken over by Mr Hanna, extensive renovations have been carried out and tenancy has increased considerably to near-full occupancy.