Latest news with #Mosgiel-based
Otago Daily Times
19-06-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Failed Mosgiel businessman declared bankrupt
Failed Mosgiel businessman Malcolm Burns - who owes creditors millions - has finally been declared bankrupt despite a last-ditch effort to delay the decision a fourth time. Associate Judge Dale Lester declared Mr Burns bankrupt in the High Court at Dunedin on June 12 after the previous week giving him "a last chance" to pay what his company Otago Excavation owes vehicle leasing business FleetPartners Group. The bankruptcy of Mr Burns, who has several businesses in liquidation owing millions to multiple creditors, was sought by NZGT (FP) Trustee Ltd, on behalf of FleetPartners Group. Private investigator Thomas James, who acted on behalf of FleetPartners, confirmed the bankruptcy was related to debts owed by Otago Excavation. The Mosgiel-based excavation company, of which Mr Burns is sole director, went into liquidation in 2022 owing more than $3.3million and is also in receivership. Receivership focuses on protecting the interests of secured creditors, while liquidation involves the winding up of the company and the distribution of assets to all creditors. The latest receivers report, published in January, stated it had secured debts of $1.7m with Kiwi Asset Finance and $1.3m with PFNZ, as of November last year. It is not clear how much is owed to FleetPartners. In a minute issued on June 12 this year, Judge Lester acknowledged the FleetPartners debt was "relatively modest", but said Mr Burns had known since at least November 2023 that he would have to deal with it and had still been unable to pay it. Mr Burns was served with the bankruptcy notice on October 23 last year and the application he be adjudicated bankrupt was filed at the end of the year. The application was scheduled to be called in court in February this year but was delayed three times on promises the debt would be settled. Judge Lester's minute noted that when the matter was called on June 12, Mr Burns' lawyer, Kevin Sullivan, sought a further adjournment partly claiming that "actions on behalf of a counsel of a creditor in support frustrated the viability of funding". That funds coming from Mr Burns' mother-in-law "did not apparently survive the provision of independent advice" was not a compelling reason to seek an adjournment, the judge said. "If the lender thought better of the transaction with independent advice, that is not a change of circumstances that Mr Burns can rely on." On June 11, another creditor, which claimed it was owed nearly $900,000 based on two arbitration awards — both dated November 2022 — joined the claim. Mr Sullivan said those debts were disputed and claims would be raised by Mr Burns to meet those debts. But Judge Lester said nothing had been done about that since 2022 and he had made it clear he would not adjourn the bankruptcy matter again. In a written statement to BusinessDesk, Mr Burns said: "The bankruptcy was the culmination of factors outside of my control and is solely due to personal guarantees related to the lending and leasing of the company. "The FleetPartners debt was primarily made up of unrealised lease earnings remaining in the contract term at the time the company was liquidated. Ironically, FleetPartners refused to even consider taking an unencumbered security and chose to proceed with the bankruptcy. This will not have any effect, nor include any of my private creditors." Otago Excavation is a subsidiary of Burns Group 2018 Ltd, of which Mr Burns is also the sole director. Burns Group was placed in liquidation in the High Court at Dunedin in 2023 despite a late attempt for an adjournment which was turned down by Judge Lester. Another subsidiary, Titan Bulk Haulage, was placed in liquidation in May last year on the application of Inland Revenue. Administration of the liquidation was recently completed and a final report last month showed creditors had been left out of pocket by more than $1m.
Otago Daily Times
19-06-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Businessman declared bankrupt
Failed Mosgiel businessman Malcolm Burns has finally been declared bankrupt despite a last-ditch effort to delay the decision a fourth time. Associate Judge Dale Lester declared Mr Burns bankrupt in the High Court at Dunedin on June 12 after the previous week giving him "a last chance" to pay what his company Otago Excavation owes vehicle leasing business FleetPartners Group. The bankruptcy of Mr Burns, who has several businesses in liquidation owing millions to multiple creditors, was sought by NZGT (FP) Trustee Ltd, on behalf of FleetPartners Group. Private investigator Thomas James, who acted on behalf of FleetPartners, confirmed the bankruptcy was related to debts owed by Otago Excavation. The Mosgiel-based excavation company, of which Mr Burns is sole director, went into liquidation in 2022 owing more than $3.3million and is also in receivership. Receivership focuses on protecting the interests of secured creditors, while liquidation involves the winding up of the company and the distribution of assets to all creditors. The latest receivers report, published in January, stated it had secured debts of $1.7m with Kiwi Asset Finance and $1.3m with PFNZ, as of November last year. It is not clear how much is owed to FleetPartners. In a minute issued on June 12 this year, Judge Lester acknowledged the FleetPartners debt was "relatively modest", but said Mr Burns had known since at least November 2023 that he would have to deal with it and had still been unable to pay it. Mr Burns was served with the bankruptcy notice on October 23 last year and the application he be adjudicated bankrupt was filed at the end of the year. The application was scheduled to be called in court in February this year but was delayed three times on promises the debt would be settled. Judge Lester's minute noted that when the matter was called on June 12, Mr Burns' lawyer, Kevin Sullivan, sought a further adjournment partly claiming that "actions on behalf of a counsel of a creditor in support frustrated the viability of funding". That funds coming from Mr Burns' mother-in-law "did not apparently survive the provision of independent advice" was not a compelling reason to seek an adjournment, the judge said. "If the lender thought better of the transaction with independent advice, that is not a change of circumstances that Mr Burns can rely on." On June 11, another creditor, which claimed it was owed nearly $900,000 based on two arbitration awards — both dated November 2022 — joined the claim. Mr Sullivan said those debts were disputed and claims would be raised by Mr Burns to meet those debts. But Judge Lester said nothing had been done about that since 2022 and he had made it clear he would not adjourn the bankruptcy matter again. In a written statement to BusinessDesk, Mr Burns said: "The bankruptcy was the culmination of factors outside of my control and is solely due to personal guarantees related to the lending and leasing of the company. "The FleetPartners debt was primarily made up of unrealised lease earnings remaining in the contract term at the time the company was liquidated. Ironically, FleetPartners refused to even consider taking an unencumbered security and chose to proceed with the bankruptcy. This will not have any effect, nor include any of my private creditors." Otago Excavation is a subsidiary of Burns Group 2018 Ltd, of which Mr Burns is also the sole director. Burns Group was placed in liquidation in the High Court at Dunedin in 2023 despite a late attempt for an adjournment which was turned down by Judge Lester. Another subsidiary, Titan Bulk Haulage, was placed in liquidation in May last year on the application of Inland Revenue. Administration of the liquidation was recently completed and a final report last month showed creditors had been left out of pocket by more than $1m.
Otago Daily Times
19-06-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Canine cancer detection forges ahead
A world-leading cancer detection programme based in Mosgiel could make the world of difference to the multitudes of New Zealand residents who are are diagnosed with cancer every day. K9 Medical Detection NZ (K9MD) research nurse and Southland Hospital colorectal nurse specialist Kim Snoep said cancer did not discriminate and the numbers told a sobering story. Early detection was key with silent-killer cancers like ovarian, she said. "By the time 85% of women are diagnosed there's limited treatment because it's quite advanced." Growing evidence suggested cancers had a scent which dogs could detect in urine samples. While the K9MD unit's achievements had shown promising results in non-invasive detection of ovarian, bowel, breast and prostate in early stages, she did not see dogs replacing current tests. "We are just giving another option and opportunity to give more information to the specialists. "We are committed to transforming medical diagnostics through an innovative science-backed approach involving the use of highly trained dogs to detect disease at the earliest stages. "So I call it another tool in the toolkit for early detection of cancer." Dogs were selected by their genetic heritage, either from a hunting line or a dog breed used for police or search and rescue. "They're not pets . . . so they have a very strong desire to work." "As they get older, they learn to find a signature smell of a particular odour or a cancer odour." Detection results were based on known positive or negative diagnosis. "That's how we know that the dogs are doing it correctly". While training was still in its trial stages, many dogs were showing 98%-100% correct detection rates. A dog had an average of 250 million receptors in their nose and mouth and a bloodhound had 300 million compared to a human that had six million receptors. Unique like a human fingerprint, their noses were able to detect a teaspoon of sugar in two Olympic sized swimming pools of water, she said. Dogs could isolate one odour or volatile organic compounds (VOC) among many others. "If we all walk into a kitchen and go, 'that's a nice casserole', a dog will walk into that kitchen and go, 'that's nice onions, that's nice carrots, that's nice peas'." The Mosgiel-based training unit had several dogs training since they they were 8 weeks old, starting with a personal rope toy, lots of organised puppy-play, lots of praise, and lots of food. At 10-12 months they advanced to searching for a single strand from their rope toy in a row of VOC scent canisters Each K9MD dog lived with a foster family or one of its trainers and had frequent community outings. "They enjoy family life, so they're not kept in kennels.' Pauline Blomfield started the medical detection unit in 2018, after envisioning dogs' micro-scent detecting abilities being used to detect cancer. It started in Dunedin and Invercargill and the team was now expanding to include medical staff in Christchurch, Wellington and Hamilton. Mrs Snoep said the K9 unit did not receive government funding but relied on public donations to meet its $1.5 million operational costs. "We need visionaries, advocates and investors who are willing to stand with us in redefining what is possible in early cancer detection." The unit were seeking women who had undergone a total hysterectomy or had both ovaries removed to provide guaranteed ovarian cancernegative samples for their trials.
Otago Daily Times
05-05-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Last contract not finished before liquidation: report
A Mosgiel-based building company did not complete its last building contract prior to being put into liquidation, the first liquidator's report says. A&H 2016 Ltd was incorporated in March 2016 and operated in the residential building and construction industry. Its sole director and shareholder was Andrew Stuart John Innes. Trevor and Emma Laing, of Laing Insolvency Specialists, were appointed liquidators by a shareholders' resolution last month. In the report, the liquidators said Mr Innes had been requested to provide details about the factors that contributed to the company's financial situation, and they awaited his response. The company ceased trading some time prior to the date of liquidation and it was understood Mr Innes recently found employment in Australia. The liquidators had access to the company premises and had taken possession of the company assets that were on site. There were five registrations recorded on the Personal Property Securities Register at the date of liquidation, three for stock supplied and two for company vehicles and a leased printer. The liquidators had been advised the company had Inland Revenue liabilities, while liquidators were aware of nine unsecured creditors. The amounts owed were still being established. Given the limited assets available, it appeared unlikely there would be a dividend available to creditors, the report said. — APL
Otago Daily Times
23-04-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Student buzzing after breaking own world record
Ryan Yoon is in his final year of high school, is deputy head boy and has eight jobs. The Burnside High School student also holds the Guinness World Record for fastest man to run a half marathon while wearing a beekeeping suit. Ryan, 17, from Bishopdale, eclipsed his own world record by more than 20 minutes, finishing the Christchurch half marathon in 1hr 36min 24sec. 'I'm feeling a little sore,' he said on Tuesday. He had suffered cramp in his hamstring at the finish line. Ryan broke the world record for a half marathon in a beekeeping suit in December in Xiamen, China, in a time of 1hr 57min 35sec. The inspiration behind wearing the suit was to promote Ryan's partnership with Hive Energy and its natural sports gel. Ryan is a sales executive for the Mosgiel-based company and facilitates a running club in Christchurch, Hive Runners, under their brand. Hive Energy sponsored his races in China, where he ran four half marathons in 35 days, so he decided to create a buzz by wearing the beekeeping suit for all of them. 'The interest was the natural concept around health and performance. Honey and bees are quite sustainable,' he said. Ryan said the beekeeping suit weighed about 2-3kg. He had been conditioning himself ahead of the Christchurch race by training in the suit for three hours a week. 'Going to the gym and running on the treadmill, I had a few looks from people. I started with controlled conditions first, working up to running outside,' he said. The goal was to break one hour and 30 minutes. The suit did make it difficult. 'When you sweat it accumulates in the suit and started to get a bit claustrophobic, the more you run the heavier it gets, and I could I barely see anything.' What got Ryan home was the support from the home crowd, he said. 'Definitely the cheers of the crowd kept me going, had to fight through – it was physically demanding and I needed that mental component to keep going.' Outside of his record exploits, Ryan manages social media for Hive Runners, works at Tas Fish n Chips and is a videographer for Kebab Connection, Sweet Oasis, Yang's Fried Chicken, Mobil Riccarton, and Bishopdale Bakery and Coffee Lounge. He also manages the marketing for the kebab shop, petrol station and coffee lounge. He has been on the student council at Burnside High for five years and is deputy head boy. And he runs a minimum of 10 hours a week. 'I love it, it's good and there is that social element too.' Ryan reckons he sleeps an average six to seven hours a night. 'I'm constantly working - one eye shut and one eye open.' His next half marathon will be in Wellington in June - this time not in the beekeeping suit. 'I'll be so grateful to run normally and breath fresh air again,' he said. Ryan is unsure what he will study at university next year. 'I'm not quite set with what I want to do, I have an interest in management, sports exercise and physio – or may something with food technology,' he said.
