ASB Showgrounds enters liquidation, weekend car sale postponed

Wednesday, 23 June 2021

ASB Showgrounds: home to the Easter Show, Auckland Food Show and Boat Show.

The ASB Showgrounds has gone into liquidation, leading to the immediate cancellation of this weekend’s Webb’s collectors’ car sale.

Showground board chair Kim Campbell told Stuff the decision was finally made to enter liquidation just before noon yesterday.

Campbell said the showgrounds was only able to operate at Covid-19 alert level 1, so had effectively lost an entire year of revenue.

This had coincided with a lease price rental dispute with The Cornwall Park Trust, which owns the land the ASB Showgrounds sits on, wanted to put up the showgrounds’ annual rent from $750,000 to $2.3 million.

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Mounting legal bills spent trying to challenge the rent hike had left the Auckland Agricultural Pastoral and Industrial Shows Board (the showgrounds’ board) unable to even pay for lawyers attend a recent arbitration in May, Campbell said.

“Covid-19 basically burnt up any reserves the place had, and remember it’s a charitable trust, so you can’t go to shareholders to raise money,” he said.

ASB Showgrounds hosts a number of popular events including the Auckland Food Show, Boat Show, and Easter Show.

Campbell said the Cornwall Park Trust had agreed to a rent deferral but not a holiday and the dispute over the price had been going on since 2017, meaning the showgrounds would eventually also be facing a large bill when back payments came due.

“It was getting more and more complicated with every day that went by.”

Questions over future ownership

Cornwall Park Trust Board chair Adrienne Young-Cooper said the priority had to be to enhance the park.

Campbell said whether the showgrounds would now pass into ownership of the landlord (Cornwall Park Trust) or be sold privately was up to the appointed liquidator.

He said there was no reason the showgrounds could not continue to host events under a new operator, with a strong pipeline of clients wanting to rent the space.

The liquidation is being handled by Rodgers Reidy director Paul Vlasic.

“It’s a very sad moment, I have to say, for everyone. This is a structure that’s been around since 1889,” Campbell said.

“Hopefully someone can find a commercial arrangement that actually works.”

Cornwall Park Trust Board chair Adrienne Young-Cooper said she hoped the voluntary liquidation did not signal the end of the showgrounds as an events centre.

“The showgrounds has been an important community facility for a very long time,” Young-Cooper said.

“While what happens next is now in the hands of the liquidator, we would be prepared to support proposals that would allow the showgrounds to continue to operate on an appropriate commercial footing,” she added.

“We have given the board considerable time and financial leeway over the past couple of years, in the hope they could find a way to continue to operate.

“We are sorry that an accumulation of circumstances has led to this point, and we have appreciated the work of the shows board to find a way through.”

She said the trust’s over-riding obligation was to preserve and enhance Cornwall Park for Aucklanders.

A spokesman for Webb’s said it was with much regret that the auction house has to postpone June Collectors’ Cars, Motorcycles & Automobilia Auction.

Webb's had 44 classic cars that were anticipated to fetch over $4 million at auction on Sunday.

“Due to the unforeseen liquidation of the venue chosen to host the auction, and the restrictions imposed as a result of this, Webb’s have unfortunately been left with no other option than to postpone this sale,” he said.