peter profit-auckland trotting club

[the galah]

How come it takes an australian to inform new zealanders about what may be happening in nz harness. 

Is the auckland trotting club just another of those no go topics that the nz harness media don't talk about?

According to the peter profit headline which anyone can read if they google it...it quotes the auditors report ...as at 31 july 2023 the ATC lost another $6.8 million for the year ended 31 july 2023 and that as at that date, its liabilities exceed its assets by $47.3 million....and that the auditors had signiicant doubt that it should continue as a going concern.

several times before i have pointed out the lack of and subsequently proven inaccurate information that some racing journalists have peddled in relation to the ATC in the past.Nowdays they don't do that,they just ignore the subject and say they can't talk about it because its sensitive business infromation.

Is this not further proof that people should be skeptical of much of what the harness media say around sensitive subjects and that certain media have a..Head in the sand ...attitude..

Also,if the auckland trotting club continues to rack up the massive losses and the auditors are saying they should stop trading,then why are they still going. Shouldn't they just accept the inevitable and fold before the debt goes even higher..

And given all that why no comment from hrnz to stakeholers about what,if any plans there are to enable harness racing in the north island to continue. Does the silence mean that they have no credible plans ? 

Edited October 17, 2023 by the galah

[Brodie]

1 hour ago, the galah said:

How come it takes an australian to inform new zealanders about what may be happening in nz harness. 

Is the auckland trotting club just another of those no go topics that the nz harness media don't talk about?

According to the peter profit headline which anyone can read if they google it...it quotes the auditors report ...as at 31 july 2023 the ATC lost another $6.8 million for the year ended 31 july 2023 and that as at that date, its liabilities exceed its assets by $47.3 million....and that the auditors had signiicant doubt that it should continue as a going concern.

several times before i have pointed out the lack of and subsequently proven inaccurate information that some racing journalists have peddled in relation to the ATC in the past.Nowdays they don't do that,they just ignore the subject and say they can't talk about it because its sensitive business infromation.

Is this not further proof that people should be skeptical of much of what the harness media say around sensitive subjects and that certain media have a..Head in the sand ...attitude..

Also,if the auckland trotting club continues to rack up the massive losses and the auditors are saying they should stop trading,then why are they still going. Shouldn't they just accept the inevitable and fold before the debt goes even higher..

And given all that why no comment from hrnz to stakeholers about what,if any plans there are to enable harness racing in the north island to continue. Does the silence mean that they have no credible plans ? 

It is an absolute nightmare for harness racing in NZ if racing in Auckland is unable to continue!

To be fair though, they must surely be a massive drain on the coffers of harness in NZ?

The product that they dish up most weeks is losing money and it just can not continue to do this!

Biggest population by far in NZ and yet they have bugger all owners and trainers, and probably decreasing by the year!

The rot must’ve started when they started the apartment development and obviously they have been very poorly advised and will be their demise, unfortunately!

Can not see how any bail out plan is going to be their saviour if the figures quoted are true.

Edited October 17, 2023 by Brodie

[Chief Stipe]

1 hour ago, the galah said:

How come it takes an australian to inform new zealanders about what may be happening in nz harness. 

You don't read Barry Lichter?

[Nowornever]

1 hour ago, Brodie said:

It is an absolute nightmare for harness racing in NZ if racing in Auckland is unable to continue!

Not really! Harness racing in the North will just vacate to the south if Alex Park goes under. North Island harness racing has been terrible since they got rid of regular Manawatu meetings and all the grass track meetings. Cambridge and Auckland week after week is boring as f@#k! 

James Stormont moved South recently. Telfer already has a barn here. Barry Purdon, Tony Herlihy, and maybe another half dozen trainers keep the fields topped up at Auckland and if another three or four of them pulled the pin it would be all over anyway. Sounds like Alexandra Park has been badly managed from the beginning of the new development. 

[Rangatira]

1 hour ago, Brodie said:

The rot must’ve started when they started the apartment development 

Ya Think 🤔 

[Gammalite]

1 hour ago, Rangatira said:

Ya Think 🤔 

Whatta tragedy .

The original President of the club that was the main Businessman involved with the $200 million property developement died as the project got under way .

So the rest of the ATC board has been shoved around ever since , by shonky company developers  once the Captain of the ship Kerry Hoggard passed away. Doomed to Fail after that 😫

Such a shame Trotting ruined at Auckland by 'housing'. Who the hell would want to live in a one bedroom apartment with no space for $800,000 anyway ? madness......

here's a clipping  from a very sad to read article,  late 2021  >>>>>>>>>>>>>

Fears expressed at original meeting

Members at next week’s meeting are sure to remind the ATC board of the fears expressed about the numerous pitfalls of property development at the original special general meeting in November, 2014 when it was announced the club would run the project itself, rather than take a smaller guaranteed profit by paying someone else to build the apartments.

But the then president Kerry Hoggard, on whose property expertise the board was relying, died in October, 2015, less than two months after the first sod was turned.

[the galah]

25 minutes ago, Gammalite said:

Whatta tragedy .

The original President of the club that was the main Businessman involved with the $200 million property developement died as the project got under way .

So the rest of the ATC board has been shoved around ever since , by shonky company developers  once the Captain of the ship Kerry Hoggard passed away. Doomed to Fail after that 😫

Such a shame Trotting ruined at Auckland by 'housing'. Who the hell would want to live in a one bedroom apartment with no space for $800,000 anyway ? madness......

here's a clipping  from a very sad to read article,  late 2021  >>>>>>>>>>>>>

Fears expressed at original meeting

Members at next week’s meeting are sure to remind the ATC board of the fears expressed about the numerous pitfalls of property development at the original special general meeting in November, 2014 when it was announced the club would run the project itself, rather than take a smaller guaranteed profit by paying someone else to build the apartments.

But the then president Kerry Hoggard, on whose property expertise the board was relying, died in October, 2015, less than two months after the first sod was turned.

I once talked to a consultant from auckland who was in town giving advise to the local council. He had many years experience in that field. This was at a time when the development had just started and there were inital delays.

At the time a couple of other similar projects in auckland were reportedly in trouble. When i asked him about the ATC development his comments were along the lines that yes they can make good money but that he found it surprising the ATC were taking on such a venture outside their wheelhouse given all the pitfalls that could occur and given there were many examples to prove that such a big project could easily fall off the rails for several reasons.

I remember him smiling and saying something along the lines that we will just have to wait and see how that turns out for them. At the time i thought that he doesn't sound very positive and he says hes an expert in giving advice on such projects. 

By the way gammalite. I just watched a race at albion park. I noticed the number 2 horse almost doubled its dividend in the last 2 minutes. A horse called Archilles driven by matt elkins. To me it looked like a clear case of M elkins getting a good run through good luck as the race unfolded,then with 400m to go the driver realising he may actually get somewhere unless he steers it to the inside so to ensure it ran nowhere. i watch things like that and think why do people bother betting on racing in queensland when you have drivers seemingly fixing races.

[Gammalite]

13 minutes ago, the galah said:

e found it surprising the ATC were taking on such a venture outside their wheelhouse given all the pitfalls that could occur and given there were many examples to prove that such a big project could easily fall off the rails for several reasons.

yes indeed , that was what i was thinking earlier. The building industry has way too many things that can go wrong. The Alexandra Park 346 apartments have had a whole shitload of them .

 

15 minutes ago, the galah said:

By the way gammalite. I just watched a race at albion park. I noticed the number 2 horse almost doubled its dividend in the last 2 minutes. A horse called Archilles driven by matt elkins. To me it looked like a clear case of M elkins getting a good run through good luck as the race unfolded,then with 400m to go the driver realising he may actually get somewhere unless he steers it to the inside so to ensure it ran nowhere. i watch things like that and think why do people bother betting on racing in queensland when you have drivers seemingly fixing races.

Yes it is very hard to bet /enjoy Queensland racing. They go round that often the Handicapper has the fields exactly even so there's never a Standout IMO.

I only watch it at Constellation Carnival each Winter when the good horses turn up, and the Group races are on for 6 weeks . This year we have the Interdominion however (my favourite Subject ) so will be todelling along to Albion in December to enjoy a bit of that for 3 weeks . will be excellent !!!!  Yulestar form there, Won the last one here (Pacers)  . and the 2001 Interdom trot went to Take A moment , from Mountain Gold and Special Force  A New Zealand Trifecta !!!! I remember getting that one . maybe again this year ?  🏆👍

[Rangatira]

10 minutes ago, Gammalite said:

This year we have the Interdominion however (my favourite Subject ) so will be todelling along to Albion in December to enjoy a bit of that for 3 weeks . will be excellent !!!!  Yulestar form there, Won the last one here (Pacers)  . and the 2001 Interdom trot went to Take A moment , from Mountain Gold and Special Force  A New Zealand Trifecta !!!! I remember getting that one . maybe again this year ?  🏆👍

 

[Gammalite]

8 minutes ago, Rangatira said:

 

Is that your mate Jack Morris ?? (who's in the gig ?) , who won at AlbionPark as well ? beating Blossom Lady and Christopher Vance I think got the placings . I was there for that one . they were close to winning it after winning heats the 2 Nz champs.  Think Blossom Lady won a whole heap of heats over 5 Interdom Finals actually without taking the BIG prize .

JACK MORRIS burned them All off here   .won all 3 heats ?   He was way too good anyway 🏆

 

[Rangatira]

6 minutes ago, Gammalite said:

Is that your mate Jack Morris ?? (who's in the gig ?) , who won at AlbionPark as well ? beating Blossom Lady and Christopher Vance I think got the placings . I was there for that one . they were close to winning it after winning heats the 2 Nz champs.  Think Blossom Lady won a whole heap of heats over 5 Interdom Finals actually without taking the BIG prize .

JACK MORRIS burned them All off here   .won all 3 heats ?   He was way too good anyway 🏆

 

According to Peter V'Landys the "Mini Minor" aka Sean Harney.

[Brodie]

1 hour ago, the galah said:

I once talked to a consultant from auckland who was in town giving advise to the local council. He had many years experience in that field. This was at a time when the development had just started and there were inital delays.

At the time a couple of other similar projects in auckland were reportedly in trouble. When i asked him about the ATC development his comments were along the lines that yes they can make good money but that he found it surprising the ATC were taking on such a venture outside their wheelhouse given all the pitfalls that could occur and given there were many examples to prove that such a big project could easily fall off the rails for several reasons.

I remember him smiling and saying something along the lines that we will just have to wait and see how that turns out for them. At the time i thought that he doesn't sound very positive and he says hes an expert in giving advice on such projects. 

By the way gammalite. I just watched a race at albion park. I noticed the number 2 horse almost doubled its dividend in the last 2 minutes. A horse called Archilles driven by matt elkins. To me it looked like a clear case of M elkins getting a good run through good luck as the race unfolded,then with 400m to go the driver realising he may actually get somewhere unless he steers it to the inside so to ensure it ran nowhere. i watch things like that and think why do people bother betting on racing in queensland when you have drivers seemingly fixing races.

When the ATC actually owned the land already and they still lost mega millions just highlights what an absolute bunch of plonkers that were involved, when house prices throughout New Zealand have blossomed!!

Auckland owners were told how much stakes were going to be and ultimately just tragic.

The industry can not afford to continue to dish out the money they currently are for such a poor product generally!

[Rangatira]

29 minutes ago, Gammalite said:

Is that your mate Jack Morris ?? (who's in the gig ?) , who won at AlbionPark as well ? beating Blossom Lady and Christopher Vance I think got the placings .

Warrior Khan was on the podium. Christopher Vance 4th I think giving him a first, second, third and a fourth across the series. Winning over a mile in sub 1.55 on night 2. Easily faster than other heat winners Franco Tiger (beating Jack Morris) and Westburn Grant.

Edited October 17, 2023 by Rangatira

[Gammalite]

23 minutes ago, Rangatira said:

According to Peter V'Landys the "Mini Minor" aka Sean Harney.

wondered what you were referring too here . 

V'Landys was a bigWig at Harold Park for 15 years before going to the gallops. Organising the Miracle Miles by the Look of it . 

Fred Kersley is a Rolls Royce lol..  did take a few wins with Northerly at the gallops , including 2 Cox Plates (that time of year again lol)  so that is Very 'Rolls Royce' like achievement 😂🏆.

quote V'Landys here >>>

''I remember inviting Jack Morris to the 1992 Miracle Mile when he was an unknown to trotting fans outside Western Australia. I rang the owners and said to them, 'We want to invite your horse to the Miracle Mile but it is on the proviso that Fred Kersley drives it rather than the trainer-driver Sean Harney'. They argued a bit and I said to them, 'Why would you use a Mini-Minor when you have a Rolls-Royce in garage?' About half-hour later, a bloke rang and said, 'It's the Mini-Minor here'. Sean was a great bloke and really made the race that year.''

[Rangatira]

2 minutes ago, Gammalite said:

wondered what you were referring too here . 

V'Landys was a bigWig at Harold Park for 15 years before going to the gallops. Organising the Miracle Miles by the Look of it . 

Fred Kersley is a Rolls Royce lol..  did take a few wins with Northerly at the gallops , including 2 Cox Plates (that time of year again lol)  so that is Very 'Rolls Royce' like achievement 😂🏆.

quote V'Landys here >>>

''I remember inviting Jack Morris to the 1992 Miracle Mile when he was an unknown to trotting fans outside Western Australia. I rang the owners and said to them, 'We want to invite your horse to the Miracle Mile but it is on the proviso that Fred Kersley drives it rather than the trainer-driver Sean Harney'. They argued a bit and I said to them, 'Why would you use a Mini-Minor when you have a Rolls-Royce in garage?' About half-hour later, a bloke rang and said, 'It's the Mini-Minor here'. Sean was a great bloke and really made the race that year.''

Harney heard about the conversation and rang Vlandys and opened the conversation along the lines of “Hi, Mini Minor here and I will be driving the horse, take it or leave it.” The rest is history as Jack Morris was invited into the field and newspaper headlines screamed “JACK WHO?”

[the galah]

7 hours ago, Chief Stipe said:

You don't read Barry Lichter?

Not really.I know he is a good reporter though.

I find ray green may be a very good trainer but i don't rate him as a tipster going by the comments he makes about his runners each week. Maybe mr greens tipping has got better since i stopped reading what he had to say?

I do check into the lincoln farm website if they have one of their horses running in queensland. Their trainer over there,M DUX seems very accurate with his predictions. 

[the galah]

So Barry lichter has just written an informative story on the state of finances at the ATC.Good on him for actually informing people.No one else in nz media or hrnz seems to have thought the future of harness racing in the north island deserved any coverage.

Although he doesn't actually say it,reading between the lines what he has wriiten,it appears the ATC can indeed continue operating at alexandra park in the future. 

This seems to be conditional on the settlement of the sale agreement  of the current training facilities at pukekohe which they sold for $100million.It seems it all comes down to whether the sale proceeds and according to J mackinnon,ATC president,its expected it will do so.The hold up has been things like council and evironment court consents,but they  have now come through.

Should the sale not be confirmed as expected,then it will get trickier as the club is paying $100,000 a week interest on their borrowings from the failed developments.The ATC owe $78 million and will pay over $5 million more before the balance of the purchase price is settled(in 12 months). 

Its unreal to think just how bad a decision makers that the ATC had on their board previously, to have put their club in such a terrible state from the development decision,but you can't change history and the ATC may still have a bit of life left in it.

They obviously aren't out of the woods totally as they have sold the training facilities so many auckland trainers use and now have just a couple of years and only 15-20 million dollars to find somewhere and develop it in the next 2 years as a training centre.

Jamie Mackinnon obviously is a pretty single minded person who seems to have unnecessarily annoyed a few people ,but if you look at his achiebement to bring the club back from the brink,perhaps he deserves a lot of credit should the club be able to continue.

Also the ATC now want HRNZ to contribute $ towards the new facilities. That seems a bit rich that the ATC would expect the likes of south island clubs and trainers/drivers/owners to pay for their incompetence.Then again maybe HRNZ may end up doing that. My suggestion if they do consider that,would be to cancel the extra $8000 they will be paying to the winners of 2yold races next year. In other words some of the decision makers at hrnz would be benefitting from the 2 y old bonus,so make them have a consequence to a decison t provide the ATC funds,should they do so.

Edited October 19, 2023 by the galah

[Gammalite]

25 minutes ago, the galah said:

They obviously aren't out of the woods totally as they have sold the training facilities so many auckland trainers use and now have just a couple of years and only 15-20 million dollars to find somewhere and develop it in the next 2 years as a training centre.

So they sold the Franklin Facility , that was used for decades at Pukekohe , and used by 20 local and 20 visiting trainers All the time. And now need to build a faciltiy elsewhere ? 

 Can they just buy Franklin training back again ?? lol 😄.  another tragedy in the ATC scheme of things past 10 years. 🙄

There was KUMEU ?? wonder if track still operating ? Only about 25km from city , so way closer to Alex Park than the long Franklin trip these days . most Trainers would love living in Massey ?😂😂 

[Brodie]

3 hours ago, the galah said:

So Barry lichter has just written an informative story on the state of finances at the ATC.Good on him for actually informing people.No one else in nz media or hrnz seems to have thought the future of harness racing in the north island deserved any coverage.

Although he doesn't actually say it,reading between the lines what he has wriiten,it appears the ATC can indeed continue operating at alexandra park in the future. 

This seems to be conditional on the settlement of the sale agreement  of the current training facilities at pukekohe which they sold for $100million.It seems it all comes down to whether the sale proceeds and according to J mackinnon,ATC president,its expected it will do so.The hold up has been things like council and evironment court consents,but they  have now come through.

Should the sale not be confirmed as expected,then it will get trickier as the club is paying $100,000 a week interest on their borrowings from the failed developments.The ATC owe $78 million and will pay over $5 million more before the balance of the purchase price is settled(in 12 months). 

Its unreal to think just how bad a decision makers that the ATC had on their board previously, to have put their club in such a terrible state from the development decision,but you can't change history and the ATC may still have a bit of life left in it.

They obviously aren't out of the woods totally as they have sold the training facilities so many auckland trainers use and now have just a couple of years and only 15-20 million dollars to find somewhere and develop it in the next 2 years as a training centre.

Jamie Mackinnon obviously is a pretty single minded person who seems to have unnecessarily annoyed a few people ,but if you look at his achiebement to bring the club back from the brink,perhaps he deserves a lot of credit should the club be able to continue.

Also the ATC now want HRNZ to contribute $ towards the new facilities. That seems a bit rich that the ATC would expect the likes of south island clubs and trainers/drivers/owners to pay for their incompetence.Then again maybe HRNZ may end up doing that. My suggestion if they do consider that,would be to cancel the extra $8000 they will be paying to the winners of 2yold races next year. In other words some of the decision makers at hrnz would be benefitting from the 2 y old bonus,so make them have a consequence to a decison t provide the ATC funds,should they do so.

Apart from the shocking state of the finances of the ATC, they also need sufficient owners, trainers, drivers, horses and punters for harness racing to be viable!

Any shortage of any of these will lead to a very poor result!

Looking at things currently, there appears to be a dwindling of all 5 unfortunately!

Hopefully things can be turned around!

[the galah]

19 hours ago, Brodie said:

Apart from the shocking state of the finances of the ATC, they also need sufficient owners, trainers, drivers, horses and punters for harness racing to be viable!

Any shortage of any of these will lead to a very poor result!

Looking at things currently, there appears to be a dwindling of all 5 unfortunately!

Hopefully things can be turned around!

Thats the point isn't it.

The current leadership have worked hard and may well be able to continue,but going forward are they going to have the income to match their expenditure,given they have sold the majority of their prized assets that generated previous income.

Lets be honest,we need to look back and see the justification they used to proceed with the project in 2014. In media reports from the likes of barry lichter,it quoted kerry hoggard,ATC chairman as saying the justification for taking on the very risky development was... They needed to generate further income to carry on as their income sources were being eaten away.

And here we are in 2023 ,with things so much worse. It must be remembered that as well as the latest 100million of assets sold,they also sold other revenue generating assets worth over $50 million a couple of years ago.

So the obvious question is,if they couldn't sustain harness racing in auckland when they had all the assets and income back in 2014,then how could they possibly do it now?

Actually its interesting to read an article that Barry Lichter wrote in 2014.It was concerning the meeting of ATC members who voted resoundingly in favour of the proposed development. It seems only 6 voted against it. Kerry hoggard said they could indeed pocket $30 million up front and not get into the property development business,but that they were worried the developerm would get close to $25 m and they would only be ledt with $5m.By becoming property developers themselves they would increase their assets by $42m.

One member at the meeting,a gavin logan, a former property developer himself,called the decision as MADNESS,saying you simply don't appreciate all the risks until you do it. He said property development is the most dangerous game you can play. He said we all know of the finance companies that went broke in the last financial crisis,well this proposed project is exactly the type of project that sent them broke"...  

Anyway while they may live to fight another day,for how long is the answer.

Edited October 20, 2023 by the galah

[Gammalite]

2 hours ago, the galah said:

Thats the point isn't it.

The current leadership have worked hard and may well be able to continue,but going forward are they going to have the income to match their expenditure,given they have sold the majority of their prized assets that generated previous income.

Lets be honest,we need to look back and see the justification they used to proceed with the project in 2014. In media reports from the likes of barry lichter,it quoted kerry hoggard,ATC chairman as saying the justification for taking on the very risky development was... They needed to generate further income to carry on as their income sources were being eaten away.

And here we are in 2023 ,with things so much worse. It must be remembered that as well as the latest 100million of assets sold,they also sold other revenue generating assets worth over $50 million a couple of years ago.

So the obvious question is,if they couldn't sustain harness racing in auckland when they had all the assets and income back in 2014,then how could they possibly do it now?

Actually its interesting to read an article that Barry Lichter wrote in 2014.It was concerning the meeting of ATC members who voted resoundingly in favour of the proposed development. It seems only 6 voted against it. Kerry hoggard said they could indeed pocket $30 million up front and not get into the property development business,but that they were worried the developerm would get close to $25 m and they would only be ledt with $5m.By becoming property developers themselves they would increase their assets by $42m.

One member at the meeting,a gavin logan, a former property developer himself,called the decision as MADNESS,saying you simply don't appreciate all the risks until you do it. He said property development is the most dangerous game you can play. He said we all know of the finance companies that went broke in the last financial crisis,well this proposed project is exactly the type of project that sent them broke"...  

Anyway while they may live to fight another day,for how long is the answer.

thanks fr that mate . and here's another Barry Lichter article too .... from 2 years ago to tell what ultimately happened. It's very sad to me . (that trotting ruined by Property developement dreams in the great city of Auckland ) 

Ironically , Kevin Seymour , a QLD property developer fought Hard , to have our track at ALBION PARK , Brisbane 'Not developed' and still trading as a trotting course , bless him. 

Here's the article . It's a bit long . But so is the tragedy of it All !!!!!!! 🥲

Who got what in the ATC v Canam building dispute finally revealed

11 December 2021

in International, New Zealand

 0

 

 

The Auckland Trotting Club will continue legal action to try to recover some of the $100 million lost in the building of its apartment complex. 

But when the harness racing club finally reveals details of its long-running dispute with construction company Canam at next Wednesday’s annual general meeting, president Rod Croon will be assuring members it will not be pouring millions more into the bid.

The club’s accounts show more than $6 million has been spent on legal fees since it dismissed Canam in July, 2018, after a slew of problems, with many believing the cost has been even higher.

 

 

 

<span style=text decoration underline><strong>Auckland Trotting Club Apartment complex<strong><span>

And even though Canam is now in liquidation, the club has indicated it plans to pursue the company’s directors personally, along with quantity surveyors, project managers, engineers and even its solicitors.

 

The final wash-up cost the ATC incurred as a result of the Canam debacle has just been certified by the club’s contract engineer and while the exact figure cannot be revealed before it is lodged with the arbitrator and the High Court it runs into tens upon tens of millions.

In August, three years after Canam sued the ATC, the arbitrator made a first interim award but it did not favour Canam as that company’s liquidator misleadingly quoted in its first report using information provided solely by directors Loukas Petrou and Stephen Jones.

Canam was awarded $933,283 mainly in relation to extensions of time and contract variations but it failed in 15 of the 18 clauses and a far bigger sum, $2,496,108, was awarded to the trotting club, with rights being reserved for future determination of the full amount after the final costs were known.

Canam told the liquidator while it was awarded “a large sum” it could not collect until a counter claim by the club was heard and it could not justify spending money it did not have with the result uncertain.

The ATC tells a far different story. Canam had failed to give the club a parent company guarantee from Canam Group Ltd. as required in the contract and when ordered to by the arbitrator in a second award it immediately wound up the company, hiding under the corporate veil.

The club claims its Christchurch lawyers Lane Neave should have picked up the key omission and that’s why it is included on its list of targets, proceedings having already been filed in the High Court.

The ATC will promise members it will not be spending another $6 million on the case but will approach it on a contingency basis. While there will be some basic costs, substantive fees will only be payable if there is a successful result.

The ATC denies it offered Canam money to drop its case against the club, as claimed in the liquidator’s report. 

“We offered to settle both before and part way through the arbitration. We said let’s walk away, everybody bears their own costs,” an ATC source said.

“The club had its back against the wall. If it didn’t defend, Canam would have got judgement and taken all its assets.”

Fears expressed at original meeting

Members at next week’s meeting are sure to remind the ATC board of the fears expressed about the numerous pitfalls of property development at the original special general meeting in November, 2014 when it was announced the club would run the project itself, rather than take a smaller guaranteed profit by paying someone else to build the apartments.

But the then president Kerry Hoggard, on whose property expertise the board was relying, died in October, 2015, less than two months after the first sod was turned.

From the outset Canam encountered problems with the foundations. Unstable volcanic rock forced the club’s engineers Engenium to fill cavernous holes with concrete and to use piles instead of concrete bases under each column of steel, at an extra cost of more than $5 million, putting the build a year behind schedule.

Meanwhile the Australian company Ganellen, hired to construct two more apartment buildings, had even worse problems with its foundations.

In April, 2018, the Auckland City Council ordered a halt to all work on both projects, citing issues with the steel, bought from China, and breaches of the building consent through lack of inspections. It took three months to resolve the issue.

While the parties bickered about who was responsible, questions arose on why the club had engaged Engenium, whose engineer Alan Reay designed the Christchurch CTV building that collapsed during the February, 2011 earthquake, killing 115 people. Reay escaped charges but was later criticised by a Royal Commission.

The trotting club’s steel was supplied by Reay’s long-time associate property developer Bert Govan’s Challenge Steel which later went into liquidation owing $10 million.

Unhappy with Canam’s progress on the job, the ATC terminated Canam’s contract in July, 2018, and appointed another Auckland company, CMP Construction, spending many millions correcting Canam’s mess.

Another major disruption that cost millions and months to fix came when the wrong cladding was put up on the buildings and had to be pulled down and replaced.

Ganellen also took a case against the ATC, believed to be for more than $13 million for lost time and variations to its contract. Despite repeated assurances from its legal advisors that the club would win, the judgements came back in favour of Ganellen and the club ended up paying out an undisclosed amount in a mediated settlement.

Insiders believe much of the legal fee haemhorraging could have been avoided had the club sat down and discussed the issues with its contractors, rather than pointed guns at each other.

ATC directors served with legal papers

Unknown to its members, Ganellen served every director on the board with legal papers, saying they could be personally liable for acting unreasonably in not trying to work out a solution.  

But, according to one inside source, perhaps the most costly decision the board made in its naievity over property development, was not taking the chance to mitigate its losses when various sunset clauses were activated after the project fell years behind schedule.

With all the delays and with costs of labour and materials rising, most savvy property developers would have revised the price of the apartments to more like market level. The units had already risen in value by 20 to 30% over the years so investors would not have suffered.

President Bruce Carter, however, was determined to honour the club’s word to buyers, passing on the chance to recoup tens of millions of dollars, the suggestion also that he feared people might choose to walk away and a glut of apartments would come up for resale.

Ultimately, it appears the turnaround on a project initially projected to earn the club $48 million, came down to a lack of construction expertise on the board, though many sitting round the table were reportedly often never privy to dispute details, handled by a dominant president and CEO. 

The project was developed and managed by CEO Dominique Dowding, who had no experience in property development when she came to the club in 2012 after seven years as the sales, marketing, events and entertainment manager at the Christchurch Town Hall.

Dowding, who was also responsible for the investment, funding and all legal and financial reporting, won the Auckland Property Council’s inaugural Women in Property Award in 2016 for her ongoing leadership on the significant urban village.

A citation at the time said: “As chief executive, Ms Dowding has led the board’s strategic turn-around of the 126-year-old iconic Auckland Trotting Club to put it on a more commercial footing, ensuring its long-term financial sustainability and the survival of harness racing in the northern region.

Dowding left the club in March, 2019.

The 246 apartment development, which realised $295 million in sales, was finally finished this year, four years after its scheduled completion.

By Barry Lichter

 

[holy ravioli]

too funny...'The project was developed and managed by CEO Dominique Dowding, who had no experience in property development when she came to the club in 2012 after seven years as the sales, marketing, events and entertainment manager at the Christchurch Town Hall.'

Probably bolt in for a job at...Entain.😁

[the galah]

33 minutes ago, Gammalite said:

thanks fr that mate . and here's another Barry Lichter article too .... from 2 years ago to tell what ultimately happened. It's very sad to me . (that trotting ruined by Property developement dreams in the great city of Auckland ) 

Ironically , Kevin Seymour , a QLD property developer fought Hard , to have our track at ALBION PARK , Brisbane 'Not developed' and still trading as a trotting course , bless him. 

Here's the article . It's a bit long . But so is the tragedy of it All !!!!!!! 🥲

Who got what in the ATC v Canam building dispute finally revealed

11 December 2021

in International, New Zealand

 0

 

 

The Auckland Trotting Club will continue legal action to try to recover some of the $100 million lost in the building of its apartment complex. 

But when the harness racing club finally reveals details of its long-running dispute with construction company Canam at next Wednesday’s annual general meeting, president Rod Croon will be assuring members it will not be pouring millions more into the bid.

The club’s accounts show more than $6 million has been spent on legal fees since it dismissed Canam in July, 2018, after a slew of problems, with many believing the cost has been even higher.

 

 

 

<span style=text decoration underline><strong>Auckland Trotting Club Apartment complex<strong><span>

And even though Canam is now in liquidation, the club has indicated it plans to pursue the company’s directors personally, along with quantity surveyors, project managers, engineers and even its solicitors.

 

The final wash-up cost the ATC incurred as a result of the Canam debacle has just been certified by the club’s contract engineer and while the exact figure cannot be revealed before it is lodged with the arbitrator and the High Court it runs into tens upon tens of millions.

In August, three years after Canam sued the ATC, the arbitrator made a first interim award but it did not favour Canam as that company’s liquidator misleadingly quoted in its first report using information provided solely by directors Loukas Petrou and Stephen Jones.

Canam was awarded $933,283 mainly in relation to extensions of time and contract variations but it failed in 15 of the 18 clauses and a far bigger sum, $2,496,108, was awarded to the trotting club, with rights being reserved for future determination of the full amount after the final costs were known.

Canam told the liquidator while it was awarded “a large sum” it could not collect until a counter claim by the club was heard and it could not justify spending money it did not have with the result uncertain.

The ATC tells a far different story. Canam had failed to give the club a parent company guarantee from Canam Group Ltd. as required in the contract and when ordered to by the arbitrator in a second award it immediately wound up the company, hiding under the corporate veil.

The club claims its Christchurch lawyers Lane Neave should have picked up the key omission and that’s why it is included on its list of targets, proceedings having already been filed in the High Court.

The ATC will promise members it will not be spending another $6 million on the case but will approach it on a contingency basis. While there will be some basic costs, substantive fees will only be payable if there is a successful result.

The ATC denies it offered Canam money to drop its case against the club, as claimed in the liquidator’s report. 

“We offered to settle both before and part way through the arbitration. We said let’s walk away, everybody bears their own costs,” an ATC source said.

“The club had its back against the wall. If it didn’t defend, Canam would have got judgement and taken all its assets.”

Fears expressed at original meeting

Members at next week’s meeting are sure to remind the ATC board of the fears expressed about the numerous pitfalls of property development at the original special general meeting in November, 2014 when it was announced the club would run the project itself, rather than take a smaller guaranteed profit by paying someone else to build the apartments.

But the then president Kerry Hoggard, on whose property expertise the board was relying, died in October, 2015, less than two months after the first sod was turned.

From the outset Canam encountered problems with the foundations. Unstable volcanic rock forced the club’s engineers Engenium to fill cavernous holes with concrete and to use piles instead of concrete bases under each column of steel, at an extra cost of more than $5 million, putting the build a year behind schedule.

Meanwhile the Australian company Ganellen, hired to construct two more apartment buildings, had even worse problems with its foundations.

In April, 2018, the Auckland City Council ordered a halt to all work on both projects, citing issues with the steel, bought from China, and breaches of the building consent through lack of inspections. It took three months to resolve the issue.

While the parties bickered about who was responsible, questions arose on why the club had engaged Engenium, whose engineer Alan Reay designed the Christchurch CTV building that collapsed during the February, 2011 earthquake, killing 115 people. Reay escaped charges but was later criticised by a Royal Commission.

The trotting club’s steel was supplied by Reay’s long-time associate property developer Bert Govan’s Challenge Steel which later went into liquidation owing $10 million.

Unhappy with Canam’s progress on the job, the ATC terminated Canam’s contract in July, 2018, and appointed another Auckland company, CMP Construction, spending many millions correcting Canam’s mess.

Another major disruption that cost millions and months to fix came when the wrong cladding was put up on the buildings and had to be pulled down and replaced.

Ganellen also took a case against the ATC, believed to be for more than $13 million for lost time and variations to its contract. Despite repeated assurances from its legal advisors that the club would win, the judgements came back in favour of Ganellen and the club ended up paying out an undisclosed amount in a mediated settlement.

Insiders believe much of the legal fee haemhorraging could have been avoided had the club sat down and discussed the issues with its contractors, rather than pointed guns at each other.

ATC directors served with legal papers

Unknown to its members, Ganellen served every director on the board with legal papers, saying they could be personally liable for acting unreasonably in not trying to work out a solution.  

But, according to one inside source, perhaps the most costly decision the board made in its naievity over property development, was not taking the chance to mitigate its losses when various sunset clauses were activated after the project fell years behind schedule.

With all the delays and with costs of labour and materials rising, most savvy property developers would have revised the price of the apartments to more like market level. The units had already risen in value by 20 to 30% over the years so investors would not have suffered.

President Bruce Carter, however, was determined to honour the club’s word to buyers, passing on the chance to recoup tens of millions of dollars, the suggestion also that he feared people might choose to walk away and a glut of apartments would come up for resale.

Ultimately, it appears the turnaround on a project initially projected to earn the club $48 million, came down to a lack of construction expertise on the board, though many sitting round the table were reportedly often never privy to dispute details, handled by a dominant president and CEO. 

The project was developed and managed by CEO Dominique Dowding, who had no experience in property development when she came to the club in 2012 after seven years as the sales, marketing, events and entertainment manager at the Christchurch Town Hall.

Dowding, who was also responsible for the investment, funding and all legal and financial reporting, won the Auckland Property Council’s inaugural Women in Property Award in 2016 for her ongoing leadership on the significant urban village.

A citation at the time said: “As chief executive, Ms Dowding has led the board’s strategic turn-around of the 126-year-old iconic Auckland Trotting Club to put it on a more commercial footing, ensuring its long-term financial sustainability and the survival of harness racing in the northern region.

Dowding left the club in March, 2019.

The 246 apartment development, which realised $295 million in sales, was finally finished this year, four years after its scheduled completion.

By Barry Lichter

 

A well written article. terrible decision after terrible decision by those who ran the ATC.Did they ever get anything right?

Interesting that they choseto  lose tens of millions of $ by not invoking the sunset clauses.

Mind boggling that those who ran the ATC would rather have the ATC ruined financially than do that.They must have known that. 

Ask yourself this. Would the people like the Bruce Carter mentioned,have done the same if it was his money that he could recover. I think he would have.

If you were cynical you could say,Oh well,only the ruin of trotting in the north island. Not a big deal. PActually its just realism,not cynicism.