Liquidators of long-running Timaru business yet to obtain payment for two large projects

Friday, 2 January 2026

Two large outstanding accounts, cited as the reason for the liquidation of a long-running South Canterbury electrical, refrigeration and heat pump company last year, are yet to be paid.

Siebers International provided services across South Canterbury for more than 40 years, before it was put into liquidation by shareholder resolution in November 2024, with owner Peter Siebers saying he hoped liquidators would “pick up the fight” over “two very large contractual disputes”.

At the time, Siebers told The Timaru Herald the decision to liquidate had been “very disappointing” and said two companies had “disputed their obligation to pay” his company.

That was just over a year ago, but the issue remained unresolved.

In their second six-monthly report, which was dated December 10 and covered the period from May 15 until November 14, joint liquidators Trevor Laing and Emma Laing, of Laing Insolvency Specialists, said they were still investigating the two projects.

“As previously advised, the liquidators are making enquiries regarding the two projects sub-contracted for by the company, however our view at present from investigations to date is that it is unlikely these enquiries will result in a return for the unsecured creditors.”

The companies involved in the two large projects had not been namedby Siebers or the liquidators, and the amounts owed have not been made public.

However, in their first report, the liquidators said the “amounts involved are substantial for the company”.

The liquidators had received claims totalling $337, 416 from creditors.

Those included four secured creditors owed $26,113, one claim from Inland Revenue for $52,114, four claims from employees owed $21,928, and 16 from unsecured creditors owed a combined $237,259.

Employees had been reimbursed at a rate of 50c in the dollar.

Secured creditors included Black Diamond Technologies, BOC, Temperzone and Harrison Bloy Plumbing and Bathrooms. Unsecured creditors included NZ Safety Blackwoods, Brosnan Transport, Thinkwater Timaru and Timaru Toolshed.

The liquidators did not give a set time frame for the completion of the liquidation, but said it was “dependent on the continuing evaluation and the economics of recovering any monies for the two projects sub-contracted for by the company”.

“The liquidators are still in the process of investigating the issues and gathering information on the transactions.

“The majority of book debts have been collected. A substantial debt has been partially settled; it is anticipated the balance due will be paid in the next reporting period. Any remaining book debts have been written off as uneconomic to pursue.”

Liquidations hit 14-year high

The final 2025 credit indicator report released in November by Centrix, a company that collected information on liquidations, showed the number of companies put into liquidation in October was the highest monthly number since 2011.

Centrix chief operating officer Monika Lacey said, that was a sign of both the “persistent financial pressure many businesses are under, as well as increased auditing and enforcement by IRD”.

“Construction remains the most affected industry, with 753 firms liquidated during the past year, an increase of 21% compared to the previous year. Despite this, liquidations represent only 0.9% of all registered companies in the sector.

“Hospitality is the second most impacted, with 318 liquidations in the past year, up 45% year-on-year.

“Encouragingly, signs of improvement are emerging across six of the 19 industry sectors, notably wholesale trade, financial and insurance services, and information media and telecommunications.”

Eighteen months ago Inland Revenue issued a warning to construction companies to sort their taxes or face enforcement action, with about 40,000 companies behind in their obligations.

In December last year, the tax department gave an update on its work to chase unpaid taxes, saying the crackdown had netted $89 million. Of that, $38.8m in outstanding taxes had been paid and arrangements made for a further $50.5m to be paid.

In June, an Inland Revenue spokesperson said auditors had uncovered another $6.6m in unpaid tax after completing 56 audits. IRD’s 2025 campaign saw it contact 33,574 customers in the construction sector.

The department has been approached to provide an update on that work.