Legal move stays Lodge lease sale

Press, 12 April 1978, Page 1

Legal move stays Lodge lease sale

A dispute over the staffing and management of The Lodge Hotel at Hanmer Springs has been staved off until April 20 as the result of a decision in the Supreme Court yesterday. Mr Justice Roper has granted continuation of an interim injunction to stop the sale of the lease going through. The injunction was initially sought in chambers on Friday by Lodge Inns, Ltd, the previous lessee of The Lodge, which went into receivership on April 4. The next hearing will be on April 20. In the Supreme Court yesterday, His Honour ordered that, until then, the new lessee (Lorramac Holdings, Ltd) should run The Lodge in the same manner and style as Lodge Inns; do its best to retain the services and positions of all the staff employed by Lodge Inns; and pay all the money received from the business into a trust account held by the official receiver (Mr K. N. Curnow). The receiver has been ordered, in turn, to pay all the takings from the business into the trust account from which any necessary payments, including staff wages, may be made. Until April 4, Lodge Inns ran The Lodge as a resort hotel and intended to promote it. Lorramac Holdings, the new lessee, has announced plans to introduce a family-style image to The Lodge, otfering cheaper, “wholesome” meals. Lorramac Holdings has been ordered to maintain “the level of all wet and dry trading stock as well as to retain all the crockery, linen, tableware, and other items owned by Lodge Inns that, were in stock on April 4.” The new management must pay the receiver any debts due to the hotel before April 4 which have subsequently been recovered. They are restrained from selling or disposing of any assets of the hotel business, other than trading stock. Mr J. A. Hanna, the managing director of Lodge Inns, is allowed access to the hotel to remove his personal chattels and those of his family. His hotel manager (Mr I. S. Cumberpatch) is permitted similar access. The receiver is ordered not to sell or dispose of any assets of the business.

He is restrained from taking any further steps relating to the debenture between Lodge Inns and the major debenture holder, Mrs J. M. Arrowsmith, whose company, Lodge Investments, Ltd, of Auckland, owns the freehold of The Lodge. In turn, Mrs Arrowsmith is restrained from taking any further action relating to the debenture. The final order made by his Honour is that “Lodge Inns shall take all necessary steps to preserve the status quo of The Lodge as existed on April 4.” A second interim injunction was sought by Lodge Inns yesterday. This

asked that the company be allowed repossession of The Lodge until the hearing on April 20. His Honour said that he was not prepared to go into reverse and put Lodge Inns back into possession of The Lodge's lease. “But I am prepared to make an order — not for repossession but for something short of this,” his honour said. About 30 persons are on the staff of the hoteL They met yesterday and agreed to co-operate with the new management in the meantime. They will meet the new management at 10.30 a.m. today.