IRD seeks to liquidate Hills Real Estate as director Rickhil Prakash and traders linked to $28m debt
Rickhil Prakash, previously named as one of New Zealand’s biggest property traders, is now facing the prospect of having his Hills Real Estate agency placed into liquidation as part of a $27 million flipping crash.
Tax authorities are seeking to wind up a high-profile Auckland real estate firm after staff were linked to companies being chased for at least $28 million in alleged debt.
Hills Real Estate has for years been an important part of director Rickhil Prakash’s trading network.
Prakash was previously named by the Herald as one of the nation’s biggest property flippers.
A Herald investigation traced 71 property deals that Prakash and Hills Real Estate-linked traders completed in 2021 and 2024, finding the network spent $54m buying the homes before on-selling them for almost $60m.
However, since then, a number of the companies involved have been put into liquidation, allegedly owing the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and other creditors tens of millions of dollars.
This week, the IRD took further action by applying in the High Court to liquidate Hills Real Estate itself.
The matter will be heard in Auckland on February 19.
Companies Office documents show the IRD has been in pursuit of money from companies linked to Prakash since at least 2024.
According to liquidation reports, three companies under Prakash’s directorship had now gone into liquidation owing a combined $16.3m.
That included New Zealand and Auckland Developments, formerly known as NZ Homes 2024, listed as owing $8.9m, Akrish Properties owing $4.2m, and RN Properties owing $3.3m.
Vashneel Prasad, a licensed agent at Hills Real Estate, was also involved in Prakash’s property trading network.
He served as sole director of Babasiga Homes, a company that went into liquidation in November allegedly owing $10.95m.
The reports state more than $22m of the $28m claimed by creditors was owed to the IRD.
The other about $5.8m was allegedly owed to other secured and unsecured creditors, although liquidator Craig Sanson, from PwC, said the amount owed had since been reduced by the sale of some company-owned properties.
Prakash and Prasad didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The IRD’s recent application to liquidate Hills Real Estate is the latest in a series of troubles besetting the traders.
A liquidator’s report shows a court earlier granted asset freezing orders against Prakash. Liquidators had also been investigating potential overdrawn shareholder accounts and potential breaches of director duties.
After two November company liquidations, at least two homes owned by the trading team were also put up for forced mortgagee sales.
Ray White successfully sold the Auckland homes at 53 Burundi Ave, Clendon Park, and 39 Walters Rd, Takanini, at auction in December.
Both homes had either partial or full mortgages with Hamilton non-bank lender Basecorp Finance, according to public records.
Meanwhile, the Real Estate Authority was monitoring the Hills Real Estate liquidation process.
A spokesman said the agency was considering “appropriate regulatory action”.
“This is a relevant consideration as to whether or not the company real estate licence, and the licence of any company officers, should be renewed.”
Risk v reward for property-flipping firm
The Herald’s analysis last year of trades linked to the Hills team found it had bought homes for about $54m and resold them for nearly $60m in 2021 and 2024.
Some of the flipped homes involved trading companies selling the same property to each other up to nine times in quick succession, sometimes on the same day.
Critics say the practice drives house prices up.
Two South Auckland first-home buyers told the Herald it had been “heartbreaking” to watch a Hills Real Estate-linked trader relist homes they tried to buy in 2021 for prices up to $100,000 higher.
However, Prakash said last year his team risked making losses on every deal and that his customers were happy.
Knowledge of the South Auckland market, relationships with real estate agents to help identify home sellers and buyers, and moving fast were all keys to successful deals, he said at the time.
The aim was to buy the right homes – typically at prices under $1m – and then quickly find a new buyer for them before the settlement date arrived.
Selling before settlement meant traders typically only put up a deposit, without also paying so-called holding costs, such as interest rates on a mortgage.
Back in 2021, it was easier to use this technique to net a profit because Auckland house prices were skyrocketing.
However, making a profit in 2024 and early 2025, when prices had been growing much slower or remained flat, had been much harder, Prakash said.
Sometimes, it was not possible to on-sell the homes before the settlement date arrived – often a period of about three months.
That typically led the traders to pass ownership of the home to another investor, who took out a mortgage on the property.
That investor then held the home until the Hills traders could find an end buyer.
The Hills team had to pay a substantial fee to the investor for this service, Prakash said.
“Once that happens, it’s a big loss, they will say: ‘Hey, give us $10,000-$20,000 a month’ just for holding,” Prakash said.