Six directors banned from running companies after business failures
Wednesday, 24 June 2026
Six directors banned: The Registrar of Companies has barred six corporate directors from managing or promoting businesses for periods between seven-and-a-half and 10 years following actions that contributed to business failures.
Maximum penalty handed down: Charles Lewis Innes received the maximum 10-year ban allowed under New Zealand law for repeated mismanagement at Podular Housing Systems Ltd and Sanders Manufacturing Ltd. This is the first maximum prohibition issued by the Companies Office since 2017.
Iconic restaurant collapse: Former SPQR owner Christopher Rupe was handed an eight-and-a-half-year ban and declared bankrupt after the 30-year-old Ponsonby Road eatery went into liquidation owing millions, with liquidators recovering just $38,000 for creditors.
Systemic failures identified: The Companies Office noted that the failed businesses commonly featured unpaid tax debts, Inland Revenue enforcement action, inadequate financial oversight, and poor record-keeping.
Six company directors have been banned from managing or promoting companies for periods ranging from seven-and-a-half years to a decade after the Companies Office found their actions contributed to business failures.
The prohibitions were imposed by the Registrar of Companies during April and May under section 385 of the Companies Act 1993.
The longest ban, 10 years, was imposed on Charles Lewis Innes over his involvement with Podular Housing Systems Ltd and Sanders Manufacturing Ltd. He was found to have repeatedly mismanaged the companies.
Cassandra Knox, the owner of failed employment agency Trinity Employment Service, was banned for eight and a half years. Her company was put into liquidation in May 2024, leaving creditors more than $2.8 million out of pocket.
Knox, who was the sole director of the company, registered a second agency, Elite Employment Limited, just three hours after Trinity was put into liquidation.
Elite Employment was then placed in liquidation in March last year, owing close to $50,000 to creditors.
Christopher Rupe, former owner of iconic Auckland restaurant SPQR, was also named among the banned directors.
The restaurant on Ponsonby Rd went into liquidation in July 2024 after more than 30 years in business, owing millions of dollars.
SPQR closed after IRD served a statutory demand for tax arrears. The business was unable to pay the debt or negotiate a repayment plan, which saw it enter liquidation.
Rupe was declared bankrupt in February 2025. Last week, it was revealed that creditors of SPQR had been left over $2 million worse off, with liquidators recovering only around $38,000.
Rupe, like Knox, was also banned from managing or promoting companies for eight and a half years.
The six company directors were named by the Companies Office on Wednesday as:
James Clark, banned for seven years and six months over the failure of several packaging and printing companies.
Hale Huka, banned for eight years following the liquidation of roofing company Roof-Fit Ltd.
Cassandra Knox, banned for eight years and six months in relation to two employment services companies.
Christopher Rupe, banned for eight years and six months over the failure of restaurant business S.P.Q.R. Ltd.
Warren Sinclair, banned for eight years and six months following the collapse of several modular housing-related companies.
Charles Innes, banned for ten years after the collapse of Podular Housing Systems Limited and Sanders Manufacturing Limited.
According to the Companies Office, the businesses commonly featured unpaid tax debts, Inland Revenue enforcement action, inadequate financial oversight and poor record keeping.
The maximum prohibition period available under section 385 of the Companies Act is 10 years. The Companies Office said the last time a director received the maximum ban under the Act was almost a decade ago, when Nelson businessman Robert Cottle was prohibited in 2017 following the collapse of a mining company.
A Companies Office spokesperson said section 385 was designed to protect the public and creditors by preventing individuals whose management contributed to company failures from continuing to run businesses.
Directors have received lifetime bans under other parts of the Companies Act.
An earlier version of this story said 10 years was the maximum period a director could be banned from managing or promoting companies. That 10 year limit is restricted to section 385 of the Companies Act. Other parts of the Act have allowed for lifetime bans. (Amended at 12.30pm on June 25, 2026)