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Maverick Campers, an Australian caravan company, has abruptly ceased operations after its stock was seized due to a dispute with a financier. The company is now in liquidation, leaving over 70 customer orders in limbo and an estimated $6 million in debt. The closure was triggered by a sudden demand for payment followed by the repossession of all inventory.
Dozens of customers have been left in limbo after the company said it had ‘no choice but to go into liquidation’. Australian caravan company Maverick Campers has shut suddenly after its stock was seized amid a dispute with a financier, leaving dozens of customers in limbo.
“Notice is given that at a general meeting of the members of the company held on , it was resolved that the company be wound up,” the notice said. Petrenko said the company appears to owe more than $6 million but that figure will be confirmed when they go over the books.
“Our immediate focus is on affected customers and creditors and identifying the best way to preserve value and maximise recoveries. ”“In the scheme of things in a business of our size that’s not a lot of money. I was negotiating with how we can shuffle that and we did get that reduced ... we had a solid plan,” Winen said.
He said he was “blindsided” by a phone call on Wednesday morning informing him all caravans across Australia were being repossessed.
“ there’s nothing you can do. There’s trucks in the yard. Winen said the company made payments on Tuesday night to secure shipping and said all rent, supplier payments, staff wages, superannuation, and ATO debt were up to date. He said the company has 72 orders in its order book, “$5m worth of value, still of forward orders, in the order book”.
He said the company was holding about $575,000 in deposits, and that more than half of those 72 customers had put forward a down payment of less than 10 per cent, “so don’t let there be rumours out there that this is crazy money”.
“They’re the ones that we’ll probably reach out to earlier, the earliest we can,” Winen said. “As for if someone said ‘we want a refund’, unfortunately that would be up to the liquidator and that would be, I’m going to assume, unlikely. So, the way to not lose any money would be to proceed with the sale,” he said.
Winen said the unnamed financier had “made a spectacle of our brand” in a move that will leave other industry retailers “nervous”. Petrenko confirmed a secured creditor had taken possession of stock over which it asserted security rights.
“The removal of stock created significant uncertainty for the business, particularly around its ability to meet existing customer commitments,” Petrenko said. “We are looking closely at the company’s financial position and the circumstances leading up to our appointment. “Until those investigations are further advanced, it would be premature to draw conclusions about the causes of the company’s failure. ”“The caravan industry is a good example of the pressures facing businesses that have significant capital tied up in stock,” Petrenko said.
“Manufacturers and dealers are dealing with higher operating and finance costs, with recent interest rate rises adding further pressure. “At the same time, consumers are becoming more cautious and taking longer to commit to significant discretionary purchases. “For businesses carrying substantial stock and work-in-progress, even a relatively modest slowdown in sales can quickly translate into cash-flow pressure. “We’ve seen a number of caravan businesses nationally experience financial difficulty, which reflects some of the broader challenges facing the sector. ”
Maverick Campers Caravan Liquidation Financing Dispute Customer Orders
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