Sarah Spark

Greg Olliver-Sarah Sparks divorce case: Property developer's 'bad faith' attempt to co...
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NEW ZEALAND
Greg Olliver-Sarah Sparks divorce case:

Property developer's 'bad faith' attempt to
control wife's debts
6 Mar, 2020 5:00am 7 minutes to read
Property developer Greg Olliver at the High Court in Auckland. Photo / Dean Purcell
By: David Fisher

Senior writer, NZ Herald
david.fisher@nzherald.co.nz
A high-flying property developer acted in "bad faith" trying to buy debts owed by his ex-
wife as part of a long-running and "acrimonious" divorce battle, a court has found.
Court of Appeal, which said the deal appeared to have no other purpose other than "to
better pursue his personal dispute with his estranged wife", Sarah Sparks.
The Herald has analysed company structures and court documents relating to the
couple's relationship collapse in 2012 after long delays in the case being heard at court
and the sprawling legal actions it has spawned.
A date for the hearing has finally been set for the High Court in Auckland in 2020 - eight
years after Olliver walked out of the marriage and six years after the couple divorced.
READ MORE
• Bitter battle: The $17 million divorce
• 'Neverland' block on the market
• Prime $15m block for sale in St Heliers after divorce battle
• Olliver with a twist
Throughout the case, Olliver has had representation from top-quality lawyers while Sparks
is into her fourth year of representing herself after running up $2 million in debt on
lawyers' fees.
Over that time, she has become a campaigner for changes to divorce laws, with her efforts
attracting academic, legal and political interest.
The legal action following the divorce sprawls across multiple High Court cases, with much
of it reflecting Sparks' efforts to discover what money Olliver has - a task made more
difficult by the complicated nature of his personal affairs and the financial structures of his
companies.
Sarah Sparks discusses the need for urgent reform of divorce laws, after waiting eight years for her day in
court.
One court decision obtained by the Herald described property deals handled by one of
Olliver's companies as "conducted through a convoluted legal structure of trusts and
companies apparently designed to protect assets from creditors and minimise taxation
liability".
Sparks says the complicated nature of the structures means that, seven years on from
Olliver walking out, she still has no idea how much money her ex-husband has or how
much of it she is entitled to.
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The deal which led to the court's "bad faith" ruling followed the collapse of one of the
companies Sparks claims as matrimonial property.
The company, CIT Holdings Ltd, owned a string of properties in St Heliers, one of which
was the former family home.
Olliver first bought the properties under a different entity in 2001 then lost them during his
2009 financial collapse when the global financial crisis left him owing $92m. He struck a
compromise deal to pay creditors 4 cents for every dollar owed to avoid bankruptcy.
Sarah Sparks in 2019, seven years after her separation from Greg Olliver and a year away from a substantive
hearing in their property division case at the High Court in Auckland. Photo / Doug Sherring
One of his creditors sold the property to recoup the money he owed, with the intermediary
then selling the land straight back to a company connected to Olliver - CIT Holdings - four
minutes later.
At that time, Olliver had transferred control of the company to Sparks, although -
according to her - he continued to exercise control over company decisions.
In 2012, CIT Holdings was back in Olliver's control and borrowed money from the BNZ
using the properties as security. Court documents show it defaulted on the mortgage soon
after and was insolvent by the end of the year.
Companies Office records show CIT Holdings Ltd was put into liquidation in March 2016 by
Inland Revenue - court records showing it hadn't paid GST since 2009.
By then, the BNZ's 2012 $9m loan to CIT Holdings had grown to $13.5m. CIT Holdings Ltd
also owed money to entities related to the couple - $3.675m to the Glover No. 2 Trust, the
holding company for a family trust (Waimarie Trust Ltd) of which Sparks was a beneficiary.
There was also a $2.249m debt from 2014 to The Bankhouse Trust Ltd, registered as
owned by Olliver.
Liquidators set about selling the properties, valued around $20m, to repay creditors but
court documents show there was little interest other than by another company owned by
Olliver, GMO Trust Ltd.
With no other offers, the liquidators prepared to sell the properties to Olliver's company.
It would have been the third time Olliver or entities he controlled would have brought the
properties, which he had tipped as being a profitable development if council zoning rules
changed.
Sarah Sparks and Greg Olliver on their wedding day in 2000, aboard the Pacific Mermaid in the Hauraki Gulf.
Photo / Supplied
The deal fell through when the liquidators refused Olliver's demand the deal include it
transferring a debt owed by Sparks and Waimarie Trust Ltd to CIT Holdings. The debt
stemmed from Sparks' using the company's money for purposes not related to its
operation.
If the claim to the debts had been included in the deal, it would have meant Olliver's
company owned the right to pursue the debt.
The Court of Appeal judgment stated: "Mr Olliver pressured the liquidators to accept the
offer. He warned that if it was not agreed to, Bankhouse would appoint receivers and carry
out a forced sale."
In March 2017, Olliver followed through and appointed Insolvency Management

(Auckland) as receiver.
He claimed he was able to do so because the money owed to the Bankhouse Trust - as
with the BNZ debt - was secured by General Security Deed. The agreement meant
Bankhouse Trust had the right to exercise control over CIT Holdings Ltd to have its debt
repaid first.
The receivers - Insolvency Management (Auckland) - then signed a deal to sell the
properties to Olliver.
The deal included "such of the other assets of the Vendor (including debtors) as the
Vendor wishes to sell and the Purchaser wishes to purchase at a price and on terms
acceptable to them".
At the same time, Olliver's GMO Trust Ltd offered $100,000 to the receivers for other assets
of CIT Holdings, including those owing the company money.
The liquidators objected, taking the case to the High Court, where it ruled appointing
receivers gave Olliver an "inappropriate advantage" because he knew CIT Holdings Ltd
was financially struggling at the time, and the security agreement was created to get
Bankhouse Trust Ltd more money than it would otherwise receive in a liquidation.
The High Court wouldn't uphold the liquidator's claim the receivers were improperly
appointed, which saw the case go to the Court of Appeal.
The Court of Appeal judgment, issued by now-Chief Justice Helen Winkelmann, said there
was "good evidence" the purpose for appointing the receiver was to get the Waimarie St
properties so as to gain possession of the company accounts.
The view from the St Heliers properties Greg Olliver sought to buy for a third time. Photo / File
"As we have
noted, Mr Olliver was, at the time, in a prolonged, and it seems from the correspondence,
bitter dispute with his estranged wife, Ms Sparks.
"There is nothing to suggest that GMO [Trust Ltd, another company of Olliver's] had any
genuine commercial interest in the purchase of the debts.
"The inference to be drawn is that Mr Olliver was attempting to acquire the debts owed by
Ms Sparks and Waimarie Trust to enable him to better pursue those debts as part of his
personal dispute with her."
Olliver refused to comment on the judgment when contacted by the Herald, saying he had
never read it. "This was years ago. I've moved on. I've got no interest." He then
disconnected the call.
KPMG liquidator Vivian Fatupaito would not comment on the case, directing the Herald to
her public reports filed with the Companies Office.
The reports show the BNZ has been paid in full, and the debt to Inland Revenue had also
been resolved. Liquidation documents showed the Waimarie Trust Ltd would receive a
payout in line with the $3.675m it was owed, minus the money owed back to the company.
In a sequel to the case, the receivers - Insolvency Management (Auckland) - sought to

recover $350,000 in fees from Bankhouse Trust, the cost of the work it had done on the
aborted receivership. The case followed the ruling that its appointment as receivers of CIT
Holdings Ltd was invalid.
Neither Olliver or his company responded to letters or requests to turn up to court. Iain
Nellies, one of those to testify for Insolvency Management (Auckland), told the Herald the
debt had been lodged as a charge against money due to Bankhouse Ltd from the
liquidation and that the fees would be deducted from that.

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Greg Olliver-Sarah Sparks divorce case: Property developer's 'bad faith' attempt to co...

Greg Olliver-Sarah Sparks divorce case:

By: David Fisher

'$41m farce': What a 14-year divorce looks

The Ex-Files: My divorce is dragging on

Hosking: The nightmarish changes proposed

What my divorce has done to my kids'

company owned the right to pursue the debt.

In March 2017, Olliver followed through and appointed Insolvency Management

In a sequel to the case, the receivers - Insolvency Management (Auckland) - sought to

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