Hawke's Bay commercial fishing company goes under owing more than $2m

Wednesday, 9 February 2022

A commercial fishing company in Hawke’s Bay has gone into liquidation owing more than $2 million to creditors and employees.

Eastern Fishing Ltd was put into liquidation by shareholders in December.

The company, incorporated in 2019, operated as a commercial fishing operation in Hawke’s Bay.

A liquidators’ report by Palliser Insolvency said the company’s cash flow was under pressure due to rising costs and decreasing revenue caused by Covid-19, among other things.

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“The cancellation of contracts, along with realisation of leased assets by a secured creditor, meant the company was no longer viable to continue operations and the director sought professional advice,” the report said.

The company’s sole director was Karina D’Esposito. It's sole shareholder is Nelson-based FVM Eastern Ltd.

At the date of liquidation the company had more than 60 unsecured trade creditors that were owed $1.6 million. Inland Revenue was owed $418,000 and the company’s five employees were owed $18,914.

Against those debts the company had assets with a book value of $616,000.

The liquidators noted that their first report had been based on information from different sources including unverified data obtained from the company.