Liam Dann: NZ Herald business editor at large on SPQR owing over $2 million to IRD, other creditors

The first liquidators' report on Auckland's SPQR shows it owes creditors $2.24 million.

The Ponsonby eatery was placed into liquidation last Thursday by special resolution of the shareholders and is no longer trading.

NZ Herald business editor at large Liam Dann says this is a sign of the times, as several iconic Auckland eateries have yet to recover from Covid and the economic downturn. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, the first liquidata's report into the iconic Auckland restaurant
SPQR has been issued today. SPQR owes more than two
million dollars. It owes IID almost one and a half
million in payroll taxes and GST staff rowed one hundred
and forty five thousand dollars in wages is holiday pay.
Liam Dan is The Herald's Business editor at large and
is with us get Aliam. Hey, Jack, this is pretty ugly, right, Yeah,

(00:23):
Like so this is you.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Know, obviously SPQR is a shock and there's some things
going on there. But you know, what we're hearing is
really more and more from the hospitality sector that there
are a number of probably quite i don't know word iconics,
overused but well established Auckland institutions that are really on
the brink at the moment. They're really struggling. You know,

(00:44):
I heard from the owner of Avachi that that she's
she's concerned. They're trying to get a sort of a
campaign going because you know, they've struggled through COVID and
the lockdowns and all that stuff, and then they've run
into this supposed to be a rebound out of that
and of course they've run into this wall of high

(01:05):
costs and high interest rates keeping people at home, and
so you know, we know, I look at the data
and it's I think the A and Z card spinning
data showed that restaurants and bars were down about six
point three percent in the last year. Now that's that's
nominal spending. So even you know that all their costs
are on top of that. And so if you've got

(01:26):
high debt and you've got cash, you know, but.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
You just spin's going down, costs going up.

Speaker 2 (01:30):
Yeah, that's right. In fact, I looked at the nominal
spend on all hospitality according to stats n Z in
the last quarter was it's exactly the same number that
it was pre COVID. So that's like.

Speaker 1 (01:43):
Flatlining, no accounting for inflation, no accounting for costs and
all that stuff.

Speaker 2 (01:48):
So these businesses are going backwards. The owners are often
not paying themselves a wage at this point. And of
course we all we're all getting excited now we're going, oh,
we can see the interest rates are going to come down,
and there's light at the end of the tunnel. But
we know from previous economic cycles that business liquidations, unemployment,
you know, the credit credit crunch stuff and mortgage e saales,

(02:13):
these these bits of data lag, so it's almost worse.
You start to start to hear the market start talking
about all the good news, and there are still some
people really struggling out there, and that's what we're at
the moment really.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
So, I mean, two million dollars is a lot that's
been building for some time. What are the liquid to
say about their plan for the company selling off a
sets and stuff?

Speaker 2 (02:32):
Yeah, yeah, look, I'm not completely across what happens next there,
I think. You know, you look at that amount of money, though,
and you've got to wonder whether really they've held on
too long, just just but you know, SPQR it feels
like something that just was sort of meant to be there.
It's a sort of an institution. As long as I've
been in Auckland, which is since about the time that

(02:53):
it started early nineties.

Speaker 1 (02:55):
Are you were always there with your flash suits?

Speaker 2 (02:56):
Well no, not quite. I remember going in the nineties
and feeling hopelessly out of my depth. You know, it
was such a big deal to go in there and
there be a shortened street star and you know, probably
probably probably carry with them there.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
Yeah, it should be the first time.

Speaker 2 (03:10):
A bet it, I'm sure, yeah, but yeah, no, it's
you know, but so there's there's two things. There is
a cyclical thing and there is a structural thing. You know,
people do change bars and restaurants to cycle over. You
will go to new places, and there is obviously a
lot of turnover in that sector. But I guess the
message is if you're you know, we're going to go

(03:30):
out and about spring is going to come along, Everyone's
going to feel better, the interest rates are going to
come down. You want to go out to your local bar.
It just might not be there if you can't get
out and support them in the next few months.

Speaker 1 (03:40):
And I know that this isn't necessarily the suggestion, but
I mean that they're unlikely to get much help from
central government.

Speaker 2 (03:45):
Right No, And I don't think I don't suppose they
they particularly want it at this point because you know,
it's there isn't anything that the government can do. It's
really down to people getting out and because let's face
at the government and Thereserve Bank are trying to put
a curb on spending, that that switch will you know,

(04:05):
there'll be that will it'll change, It'll change there's going
to be a flick of that switch, but it just
may come too late for some of these businesses.

Speaker 1 (04:12):
Thanks for your time, Lean, I appreciate it. New Zealand
Herald Business Here for at large, Liam Dan. For more
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