SALE OF 100 YEARS LEASE

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 62, 7 December 1926, Page 8

SALE OF 100 YEARS LEASE

UNPRECEDENTED POINT OF LAW RAISED Dominion Special. Auckland, December 6. An action, which involved a point of law that was said to be without precedent in New Zealand, was the subject of a reserved judgment by Mr. Justice Ostler in the Supreme Court to-day. The case was a motion by the liquidator of Victoria Street Properties, Ltd., taken under section 226 of the Companies Act, 1908, for the determination of certain questions arising out of the voluntary liquidation of the company. The company acquired a lease of land, which is situated at the corner of Victoria, High, and Kitchener Streets, from the trustees of the Outhwaite Estates for 100 years, at a rental of £2OOO per year for the first forty years, and £3OOO for the remainder of the term. The company subsequently sold the lease at a profit to Unique Properties, Ltd., the sale being approved by the trustees, and Victoria Street Properties, Ltd., went into voluntary liquidation. When the liquidator found himself in a position io return tlie capital to the shareholders and divide profits, he was pressed bv the shareholders on the one hand, and_ by the trustees on the other. The trustees intimated that they would hold Victoria Street Properties responsible for the performance of certain conditions of the lease, in addition to payment of rent. Mr. Justice Ostler made an order requiring the liquidator to retain all the assets' of Victoria Street Properties, Ltd., and keep the company functioning until a further order of the Court has been obtained.