The Apprentice New Zealand

Terry Serepisos has today been declared bankrupt owing more than $22 million.

The former Apprentice NZ “boss” and ex-Wellington Phoenix owner has had access to his Century City group office in Wellington blocked.

Despite a last-minute bid to put off the bankruptcy application in order to allow funds to arrive from a Hong Kong merchant bank, Serepisos was declared bankrupt in the High Court in Wellington this morning.

His lawyer, John Billingham, QC, asked associate judge David Gendall to hold off for four days to allow the oversees money to arrive but the judge believed it was time for Serepisos’ situation to be investigated.

“I am quite unable to determine the veracity of the arrangement or whether the loaned monies will arrive in the New Zealand banking system as promised,” Judge Gendall said.

He said that if the money did come through then Serepisos could apply to come out of bankruptcy early.

Source: Stuff

Terry Serepisos has had two of his companies placed into receivership.

The former Apprentice New Zealand boss has had receivers appointed to his 79 Manners Street and Maison property Holdings companies says the NBR.

The companies own a number of Wellington apartments on Tory Street and Courtenay Place as well as the Century City tower on Victoria Street.

Source: 3news

Terry Serepisos is back in the headlines today with money issues again being the reason.

The property tycoon and one-time Apprentice New Zealand boss is reportedly facing bankruptcy with FM Custodians Ltd, acting for the frozen Canterbury Mortgage Trust, beginning bankruptcy proceedings against him in court.

The company is looking to bankrupt Serepisos over a $6.1 million loan he personally guaranteed.

The news comes just weeks after Serepisos narrowly avoided the liquidation of his companies by the IRD and ACC over unpaid taxes and ACC levies.

Stuff reports that the application was initially set down for the High Court in Wellington this afternoon but Serepisos’s lawyer has since withdrawn from the case.

Source: Stuff

Terry Serepisos has been given one day to save five of his companies from liquidation.

The Wellington property heavyweight and former Apprentice NZ boss owes the IRD more than $3.5 million in tax and penalties for his Century City companies, including the one that owns the Wellington Phoenix football club.

Serepisos will transfer $4m into his lawyer’s trust fund today but it is not clear whether or not that will save his companies.

He is due back in the High Court tomorrow morning.

Source: Herald

We saw this billboard last week driving along Auckland’s southern motorway.

I’m amazed that this saga is still going on.

I doubt a second series would help him anyway.

The Apprentice NZ boss Terry Serepisos has been bailed out by the owner of Spanish football club Racing Santander.

Ahsan Ali Sayed has come to the rescue of the troubled Serepisos who has had a highly-publicised battle with finances over the past six months.

Serepisos has secured a $100 million loan as well from Ali as well as managing to offload half of the Wellington Phoenix A-League football club to him.

Five of Serepisos’s companies face liquidation by the IRD for unpaid taxes of more than $3.5 million.

It’s fair to say that Serepisos’s chances of hosting another series of The Apprentice are pretty slim at this stage.

Source: 3News

With all the talk of Terry Serepisos’ money issues circulating in the media at the moment it seems fitting that someone should take a look at how his “fired” apprentices are doing.

The Herald is reporting that the contestants who failed to win The Apprentice New Zealand series on TV2 earlier this year are doing quite well.

So while their prospective boss is struggling with tax issues, the likes of Linda Slade, Karen Reid, Kirsty Parkhill and runner-up David Wyatt are all on the up in their respective careers.

Fifth placed Slade has since moved to Auckland to join an advertising agency and  says: “Lots of things are happening; it’s a very exciting time, [The show] definitely opened up the doors for me.”

Reid, who placed fourth, says her Auckland-based health clinic is doing well, while Parkhill has also moved North to take on a position as a hotel’s business development manager.

Meanwhile runner-up Wyatt, who says he doesn’t know enough about Serepisos’ finances to comment, confirmed that he is keeping in touch with winner Thomas Ben.

“Things seem to be going well for him and I wish him all the best,” Wyatt said.

Source: Herald

The Inland Revenue Department has filed court action to liquidate five of Terry Serepisos’ companies with more than $3.5m owing.

The Apprentice New Zealand’s “boss” has had well-publicised money issues over the past few years with his Century City Football owing more than $1.5m of the $3.5m

This spells trouble for the Wellington Phoenix football team who are owned by Century City.

Four other companies in the Century City group owe between $400,000 and $804,000 each according to the papers filed by the IRD.

Serepisos has acknowledged that he has tax issues and expects them to be resolved in the next few weeks.

Source: Stuff

Despite taking out the inaugural season of TVNZ reality show The Apprentice NZ, winner Thomas Ben appears to be a little upset over his BMW car prize.

Stuff.co.nz is reporting that the 35-year-old winner of the Terry Serepisos-fronted reality show is claiming his flash BMW 320D touring model that came as part of his win is not all that it cracked up to be.

Ben said that after he was crowned the winner he immediately received a 320D sedan which when he arrived in Wellington to begin work for Serepisos’s Century City firm would be replaced by a brand new one.

“The car they [BMW] gave me after the show was a really nice black high-spec 3-series, so I thought ‘cool, fantastic’. I was really excited,” Ben said.

“Then we get down here and they gave me just a really low model – like a Camry wagon but a BMW.

“There’s no equipment in it, nothing. It was a bit of a step down, to be honest.”

Ben says his gripe is not with the show or Serepisos, but with BMW.

“They said our contract with the production company only states a 320D – not the spec, but, if I wanted to do a photo shoot they would lend me the gear,” he said.

As part of the prize for the win, Ben received a one-year contract with Century City and the use of  a luxury five-bedroom house in Roseneath, Wellington.

Source: Stuff

The Apprentice NZ’s Terry Serepisos is in the headlines again for the wrong reasons, this time regarding Wellington Phoenix player levies.

The ACC threated legal action against the football club which is owned by Serepisos after he originally failed to honour payment agreements with the Accident Compensation Corporation.

The plan for ACC was to liquidate Century City Football, of which Serepisos is the sole director.

However, today the Wellington Phoenix have made out a cheque for $260,000 to ACC in regard to the levies.

Earlier, Keith McLea, acting chief executive  of ACC, said : “Century City Football owes more than $260,000 in unpaid levies to ACC, some of it dating back several years. 

“They have promised to pay many times but not done so. We have even agreed payment plans with them but these have not been honoured. 

“Liquidation is the final option and is a step we have not taken lightly. We fully appreciate the potential impact on the Wellington Phoenix football team. 

“But in the end it’s simply not fair that other business levy payers are forced to continue subsidising Century City Football, since injured staff members of Century City Football are still helped by ACC whether or not their employer has paid its levies.” 

Serepisos stated he was “shocked” by the action, saying he and his lawyer had agreed on a plan with the ACC last Friday to pay the levies and knew nothing of the move to liquidate.

Source: Stuff