How thrice-bankrupt property developer Peter Chevin ended up living in luxury in a $2m house

Friday, 29 April 2022

A long-time friendship between thrice-bankrupt property developer Peter Chevin and high-profile Harcourts real estate agent Martin Cooper might seem an unlikely one, but now there’s another link: Cooper says he is Chevin’s landlord.

The Reed Myers saga has caused a lot of stress for first homebuyers, one development on Red Hills Rd in Massey has been the subject of a Resource Management Act abatement notice, and the landowner of the other plot of land on Triangle Rd says a Reed Myers development isn’t being built there.

Meanwhile, the first home buyers invested in their developments have been watching themselves fall further behind on the property ladder as prices climb and they are unable to use their deposits for anything else.

But while the first home buyers involved have been left in limbo, Chevin – who is allegedly controlling Reed Myers - has been enjoying the use of a spacious $2m four-bedroom house in upmarket Ōrakei that looks out onto Rangitoto Island.

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Cooper says he has known Chevin for 25 years. He says Chevin picked out the house, but couldn’t afford to buy it, so Cooper bought it instead.

Chevin is not currently bankrupt but has had four bankruptcy proceedings brought against him (one was later annulled), and acquired several convictions along the way, including on nine charges related to the theft of public funds in 2016.

Cooper’s Harcourts franchise Cooper & Co is a notable presence in Auckland, and he is a go-to property voice in the media on property issues.

He considers Chevin’s home an investment property and says Chevin pays market rate for the rental.

“He was going to buy the property and he couldn’t afford to buy it, I thought it was a good deal so I bought it and I have him in as a tenant in the property and that suits me.'

Chevin is banned from managing or operating a company until October 2026. He is allegedly the controlling force behind property developer Reed Myers, but he has always maintained that he is a Resource Management Consultant for the company and does not manage or control it.

The Reed Myers Triangle Rd development was the subject of a Stuff story last week where first home buyers thought they were seeing construction work on their homes take place, but were unaware Reed Myers had not settled payment on the land.

Without payment, the landowners, Eddie Simpson and Annie Zaloum, decided to press ahead with their own project.

On Tuesday, One Stop Property agent Sandy Williams sent out an email to buyers claiming Cooper was stepping in to sort out a situation with Reed Myers at the company’s development on Triangle Rd.

'I have spoken to Martin Cooper from Cooper and Co and he has given me permission to state the fact that he is now helping Reed Myers solve the issue with the said party Eddie Simpson,” Williams wrote.

'He has a meeting with Eddie this week and he is going to do everything he can to help all my buyers get into their homes at 215 Triangle Road Massey.

'Martin said these negotiations may take up to three weeks. Also please be ensured that your deposits are safe and held in the lawyers trust account.'

However, Cooper says he has made no plans to meet with Simpson and denies giving Williams any permission to send out that message on his behalf.

“I rang her .. and I said I’ve read the article and it’s not good … I didn’t give her permission to send that email out, but I said to her ‘look I know Eddie, I’m happy to go and talk to Eddie and try and get him to see reason.'

Simpson says he barely knows Cooper, and has not heard from him this week.

However, he says Chevin did get in contact, and mentioned Cooper’s name.

“Peter Chevin has contacted my financial people and said something similar: that Martin Cooper wants to buy the land.

'Nobody has spoken to me. The land is not available. They don’t get it. It’s not available.”

Simpson says he has invested too much money into the land already, and he does not know how much the civil works will cost once they’re completed.

Williams declined to comment on the email.

Cooper’s ties to both Chevin and the Reed Myers Triangle Rd development stretch back several years,

Cooper’s company Foster Crescent Limited used to own the land, and sold it to Simpson and Zaloum.

A liquidator’s report of a company called 217 Triangle Road Limited, which went into liquidation in November 2019, notes that the land at Triangle Rd was challenging to develop due to the contours of the land, the presence of a “massive” power pylon on the property, the high-voltage power lines running overhead, and the fact it is located right next door to a large electricity substation.

The liquidator, Kevin Davies of Principle Liquidation, was able to prove Chevin’s influence over the company by finding a shareholder consent form that Chevin had submitted to the Companies Office.

Chevin was still able to log onto the Companies Office website and update shareholder details

As for Cooper, he says he is simply giving Chevin a second chance.

“If I was just to read the Google track record of Peter Chevin you wouldn’t go near him with a barge-pole, I accept that.

“But he’s a family man, he’s been married and has four children, I know a bit about his personal life through 25 years of knowing him .. I have had a reasonably fine working relationship with him.'