Smiths City owner bankrupted facing more than $1m in debts
Wednesday, 1 April 2026
His nationwide furniture and appliance chain went bust owing more than $25 million to creditors. Now, the owner of Smiths City has been bankrupted facing more than $1m of his own debts.
When the company was in its heyday, Colin Ashley Neal signed a personal guarantee over a lease at The Railyard retail complex in Hornby, Christchurch.
But after Smiths City went under, its stores ceased trading and it vacated the Hornby premises owned by Tower Rail Precinct Ltd.
Personally responsible for the lease, Neal incurred more than $1m in debt owed to unpaid rent and the cost of restoring the premises.
Neal was adjudicated bankrupt by Justice Rob Osborne at the High Court at Christchurch on Wednesday morning.
Neal had not disputed the debt nor made any attempts to pay it.
Contact the reporter: jake.kenny@stuffdigital.co.nz.
The land owner was not the only party chasing him for money.
Neal was also in debt to Adrian Barkla - the listed owner of a New World supermarket in Remuera, Auckland.
Late last year, Barkla sought for Neal to be served with court documents by way of a lawyer after he could not get a hold of the former Smiths City owner.
Barkla had a separate bankruptcy application running against Neal that was discontinued by Justice Osborne following Neal’s adjudication.
In December, Neal was ordered to pay nearly $1.04m he owed Tower Rail for the unpaid rent and renovation costs, by Associate Judge Dale Lester.
The former Smiths City owner did not act when Tower Rail served its summary judgment application on him.
The total continued to accrue interest until paid in full, meaning it was now likely to be well in excess of the $1.04m figure.
The amount owed to Barkla was not disclosed in court.
Nationwide, Smiths City was voted into liquidation in October last year, after going into voluntary administration in early September.
The 107-year-old chain faced more than $25m in claims, including $10.5m owed to unsecured creditors who liquidators, BDO’s Colin Gower and Diana Matchett, said were unlikely to be paid.
At the time of administration Smiths City ran nine stores, mostly in the South Island, and employed around 137 staff. All stores had been shut since then.
Days before the company formally went into administration, its Hornby store closed – less than three years after it had opened.
Neal said at the time the company would be closing stores and not renewing leases across the country after business slumped by 40% over two years.
Based on accounting records, total creditor claims were at $25.7m, including $9m in secured claims due to ASB Bank, Polar Capital (director Colin Neal’s vehicle) and Smiths City Finance.
The bank was claiming $2.2m, while Smiths City Finance claimed $651,000.
The company’s 100% shareholder Polar Capital is claiming more than $6m after injecting the funds into the company since 2020 to keep it running, Neal said in the report.
The company also owed gift card holders $362,000.
Secured creditor claims were more than $5m, with Australasia’s biggest mattress and foam manufacturer, Comfort Group, claiming the most at $2.9m.
Other secured creditors included Electrolux, Samsung and Bosch. Meanwhile, 106 preferential creditors were claiming $1m.
Neal, when approached for comment, responded: “No story, enough please.”