Voluntary Administrators Appointed to the “Supie” Group of Companies
1 November 2023
The Administrators of Supie Limited, Workerly Limited and Bevie Limited wish to provide an update on the administration process.
The ‘First Meeting of Creditors’ and the ‘Watershed Meeting of Creditors’ will be held on 9 November (at 3:30pm and 4:30pm respectively). Details about these meetings will be available on the PwC New Zealand website when it becomes available.
We are pleased to announce that an anonymous and substantial cash contribution has been paid into Workerly Limited. This cash contribution was provided on the basis that the full amount is used to pay the employees of the Supie Group of Companies. The Administrators expect to be able to pay a substantial portion of all outstanding gross wages and salaries for all staff. Outstanding holiday pay and other claims against Workerly may remain unpaid at this stage. The Administrators expect to make the distribution towards outstanding wages and salaries early next week.
30 October 2023
Richard Nacey and Stephen White, of PwC New Zealand, were appointed Voluntary Administrators of Supie Limited, Workerly Limited and Bevie Limited on 30 October 2023, by resolution of the Director.
The Supie Group operates a well-known online grocery business in Auckland. The business was established in 2021 as a start up, with the aim to introduce competition into the industry, as part of its mission to ensure all Kiwis have access to affordable, healthy food. The Group employs approximately 120 staff.
Voluntary Administrator Richard Nacey says, “The sole Director of the three companies made the decision to appoint administrators following a key investor ceasing to continue providing funding to the business. This resulted in the business facing cash flow difficulties. While sales have rapidly grown over the last calendar year, recent growth has been lower than expected, and insufficient to provide the scale needed to operate profitably in what is a highly competitive industry.
As Voluntary Administrators, we don’t have sufficient funding to continue to trade the business in administration. In the absence of securing funding, we expect to be seeking to have the three companies in the Group placed into liquidation in the near future.
Following our appointment earlier today, we are now working through the details and the positions of the companies in the group. However, at this point based on our initial enquiries, it appears unlikely that there will be sufficient funds available to pay wages and holiday arrears.”
While the Voluntary Administrators are yet to establish the full extent of creditor claims across the Group, initial estimates suggest they will be in the vicinity of $3 million.
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