Meat firm trades out of receivership

Press, 2 July 1986, Page 35

Meat firm trades out of receivership

The Christchurch CBP Industries Group, which formerly ran the city abattoirs, has traded its way out of receivership, with the payment in full of debts more than $lO million. The group, now a nontrading investment firm, is still the owner of about 11 hectares (27 acres) at Sockbum, and of a rendering plant which it leases to C. S. Stevens and Company, Ltd. It was originally a cooperative company owned by Christchurch butchers, and these still make up the majority of its shareholders. The hero of the salvage is Mr S. W. Bullen, of Peat Marwick Mitchell and Company, the joint receiver. The directors of the CBP Group are so pleased with him, that at the annual meeting on Monday evening, they invited him to join the board.

When CBP Industries, Ltd, the group holding company, went into receivership in 1981, the shares were worth nothing. At March 31, this year, the shareholders’ funds were worth more than $1.3 million, excluding the revaluation of pro-

perty and the industrial property. Perhaps more important, hundreds of jobs and an enterprise were saved for Canterbury. What was the city abattoir was part of the group sold to C. S. Stevens and Company, Ltd, which has developed the facility into an export meat-processing factory. Of more than 305 employees at the time of receivership, not more than 10 lost their jobs. In fact the owners of the parts of the group sold off by Mr Bullen as receivermanager have been developed and probably now provide about 400 jobs. The Sockburn plant of C. S. Stevens, which has a mutton and lamb chain, a beef chain and a pig chain, has a staff of more than 300. The chairman of CBP Industries last evening said of Mr Bullen: “He was marvellous.” Most shareholders had written off their shareholding, and the value now placed on their shares was because of the efforts of the receiver and his staff. Two receivers were appointed initially (Mr A. J. Wakefield was the other), but Mr Bullen has been the receiver-manager. CBP Industries Group went into receivership on November 16, 1981. The group then comprised CBP Industries, Ltd, formerly Canterbury Bye Products, Ltd, which operated a rendering down plant for the butchery trade and casing processing plant; CBP Meat

Processors, Ltd, which took over the Christchurch city abattoir; North Canterbury Wool and Fellmongery, Ltd, which was in the process of erecting a new fellmongery plant in Belfast; and Associated Meat Buyers, Ltd, a meat wholesale distributor. Total liabilities of the group were $12.5M. The first step taken by the receivers in March, 1982, was the sale of CBP Meat Processors to the C. S. Stevens Group. On September 30, 1982, the 50 per cent holding in North Canterbury Wool and Fellmongery was sold to Colyer and Watson Company, the other 50 per cent shareholder. In January, 1983, the Bank of New Zealand, the first debenture-holder, was paid off, and in October, 1983, with the consent of the remaining debenture-holders, unsecured creditors of Associated Meat Buyers were paid 75c in the dollar. In November, 1983, the rendering plant and casings plant were leased to C. S. Stevens by the receivers. In June, 1984, the balance of 25c in the dollar to Associated Meat Buyers unsecured creditors was made, and in July, 1984, the first payment to unsecured creditors of CBP Industries of 25c in the dollar was made, together with bringing up to date interest payments to the fourth de-benture-holders, who were principally shareholder suppliers to the plants. A further payment of 35c in the dollar to unsecured creditors was made in March, 1985. Associated Meat Buyers trading operations were sold to C. S. Stevens in December, 1985, and this provided the funds to enable the receivers, to clear all debentures and make a final distribution to unsecured creditors in March, 1986.