Companies Office records show Smiths City 2026 Limited was incorporated in February, with Sheehan and Bell serving as directors.
Smiths City was previously owned by Colin Neal’s investment company Polar Capital, which bought the company in 2020 after it went into receivership.
A recent liquidator’s report into Smiths City (2020) Limited shows liquidators sold the intellectual property assets of the company for $101,000 plus GST.
“This represented the highest offer received from the sales process undertaken,” the report said.
Liquidators Colin Gower and Diana Matchett of BDO Christchurch are continuing their work dealing with Smiths City (2020) Limited.
Their latest report estimates a deficit to creditors of more than $25 million.
Smiths City was founded in 1918 in Christchurch and expanded to various locations throughout New Zealand.
At the time of going into voluntary administration last year, the company operated nine stores, primarily in the South Island, and employed around 137 staff.
The liquidators said Smiths City underwent a significant rebrand and relaunch under Polar Capital and experienced positive trading results in FY22, post the Covid-19 period.
However, sales “decreased significantly” during FY24 amidst a “challenging economic environment”.
“The reduction in both sales and margin, combined with a high fixed-cost structure, made the company unprofitable,” a liquidator’s report said.
Attempts to sell the business in the months before going into administration last year had been unsuccessful, while trading conditions “significantly worsened”.