Auckland florist Wild Poppies in liquidation but still selling under new owner
The florist Wild Poppies, headquartered on Ethel St in Morningside, has gone into liquidation. Photo / Corey Fleming
Auckland florist Wild Poppies has collapsed owing creditors at least $400,000, but the business is continuing to trade online under what it claims is “new ownership and management”.
Wild Poppies was incorporated in 1998 with Kerry Bradburn as the sole director. Bradburn said she had been operating the business for 35 years and now, aged 70, was looking forward to retirement.
While the company was facing legal proceedings to appoint liquidators, Wild Poppies shareholders voted to forestall that application on May 19 by appointing liquidators Adam Botterill and Damien Grant of Waterstone.
Bradburn told the Herald this weekshe blamed the business failure on an onerous lease agreement.
“In a nutshell, the premises we had were wildly expensive, and the economy had shrunk so much that the rent was just ridiculously too high,” she said.
Botterill and Grant’s first report into the company, published last night, said they had been advised the failure was because of deteriorating market conditions, poor marketing advice and a lack of available funding.
While legal notices advised Wild Poppies’ headquarters in Morningside had been repossessed by their landlord, the company’s website – the first liquidators’ report said the company was “online-oriented” – contains no mention of the recent insolvency.
On May 20, the day after liquidators were appointed, customers of Wild Poppies were emailed: “We wanted to reach out personally to share some important news. Wild Poppies is continuing to trade under new ownership and management.”
Bradburn said the liquidation did not mean the end of Wild Poppies.
“The business is fine. It’s operating with the same staff, same everything really. It’s under new ownership management. Yeah, I’m sure it’ll thrive and grow and survive this little hiccup,” she said.
“It’s been a great business over the years, but like all businesses, sometimes you make mistakes, you make wrong choices, and signing up to my lease was one of them, sadly.”
Bradburn declined to volunteer to the Herald who had taken over the business: “I’d rather not say. I don’t think it’s anyone’s business. All that mattered to me is that the business is unchanged from the point of view of the customers.”
The week before liquidation, on May 12, Weyland Group were incorporated. It is understood that company has taken over the Wild Poppies business.
Weyland’s sole director and shareholder is Cole Bradburn.
Bradburn declined to elaborate on her relationship with Cole, but she acknowledged the obvious kinship.
“Obviously, he’s related to me, but the business has been valued, it’s all above board. He’s paid the market price for the business. We wouldn’t be stupid enough to not,” she said.
The Herald understands Cole is her son, who has previously been described as Wild Poppies’ operations manager.
“There’s nothing untoward that’s happened,“ Bradburn said. “It’s all legitimate, there’s no problems.”
Grant and Botterill noted the company they were appointed to had no assets and said they were looking into the pre-liquidation business-sale transaction.
“The liquidators are aware that the company’s tangible and intangible assets were sold prior to liquidation. The liquidators are in the process of reviewing the sale,” the report said.
Waterstone’s first report said preferential creditors – typically comprised of unpaid wages and taxes – totalled $413,000.
Unsecured creditors were listed as being owed $66,251, with Waterstone indicating they were aware there were others yet to lodge a claim.
Secured creditors yet to lodge and quantify their claim with Waterstone include three banks: ANZ, BNZ and Heartland.
Financing statements in February last year show Wild Poppies took possession of a brand-new Mini Cooper, with the vehicle pledged as security to BMW Financial Services NZ.
Matt Nippert is an Auckland-based investigations reporter and ICIJ member covering white-collar and transnational crimes and the intersection of politics and business. He has won more than a dozen awards for his journalism – including twice being named Reporter of the Year – and joined the Herald in 2014 after having spent the decade prior reporting for business newspapers and national magazines.
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