Liquidating the beleaguered Timbercorp is the best option, says administrators KordaMentha.
Timbercorp creditors have voted to have 41 companies within the group wound up at a second creditors meeting held in Melbourne yesterday as there were no funds to continue trading.
Timbercorp administrators KordaMentha reiterated the recommendation that the troubled agribusiness company be liquidated as soon as possible in order to save costs.
"We see no advantage in staying in administration as there is no credible alternative at the moment," KordaMentha administrator Mark Korda said at the meeting.
"The leases we have to deal with will be easier in liquidation and it's the most cost-effective answer as the liquidators can liaise directly with the committee of creditors rather than having to go to court."
According to Korda, liquidators would also be best placed to continue investigations into the viability of the companies.
However, Korda stressed that any decision to wind up the companies in the group or Timbercorp Securities Limited would not result in the automatic winding up of the 36 managed investment schemes (MIS) and private offer schemes.
"Voting on whether the company should be wound up will have no effect on schemes as the schemes are being dealt with in the court," Korda said.
Creditors committee member Neil White said his clients would be supportive of continuing investment in the schemes.
Last week, KordaMentha was ousted as the responsible entity (RE) of Timbercorp's mango and avocado schemes and replaced by Huntley Management.
"We don't have any line of sight with what Huntley Management is proposing. The major issue for the next three months is that the schemes require $1.9 million of rent to maintain the projects, but this is no longer Timbercorp Securities Limited's problem, it's Hunt's issue," Korda said.
The Timbercorp Group consists of Timbercorp and 40 subsidiaries.
The group operated 33 MIS and three private offer schemes in relation to forestry and horticulture assets.
When it was placed in administration in April it owed an estimated $930 million.
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