{"id":618000,"date":"2026-10-02T02:10:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T02:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/618000\/"},"modified":"2026-10-02T02:10:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T02:10:10","slug":"liquidators-start-court-proceedings-against-solarzero-directors-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/618000\/","title":{"rendered":"Liquidators start court proceedings against SolarZero directors"},"content":{"rendered":"

The liquidators of collapsed solar power company solarZero have launched High Court proceedings against four former directors, alleging decisions made before the company’s collapse left creditors facing significant losses.<\/p>\n

Liquidators Adele Hicks and Malcolm Moore, of Grant Thornton New Zealand, said proceedings had been filed against four former directors of Lunar Infinity Limited, formerly known as solarZero.<\/p>\n

The liquidators allege the directors breached duties under sections 135, 136 and 137 of the Companies Act, covering reckless trading, incurring obligations a company cannot meet, and directors’ duties of care, diligence and skill.<\/p>\n

The liquidators say the claims relate to decisions made before the company was placed into liquidation in November 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“The company benefited from significant public and private investment and left creditors with substantial losses, so it’s important to pursue those claims and maximise any potential recovery available,” Hicks said.<\/p>\n

The surprise liquidation of SolarZero by its multinational owner BlackRock has infuriated workers. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n

The liquidators said they had undertaken an extensive investigation of the company’s financial position, governance records, financing arrangements and related transactions before deciding to commence proceedings.<\/p>\n

The allegations have not been tested in court, and the defendants are entitled to respond.<\/p>\n

The liquidators have not identified the four former directors named in the proceedings.<\/p>\n

When the company went into liquidation, Companies Office records show the directors of Lunar Infinity Limited, formerly solarZero, were Andrew Booth, Simon McIver, Charles Rid and Valerie Speth.<\/p>\n

SolarZero was one of New Zealand’s largest residential solar businesses, providing rooftop solar and battery systems under long-term subscription-style contracts. The company collapsed in late 2024.<\/p>\n

The liquidators’ most recent report identified BlackRock Inc, the world’s largest asset manager, as the ultimate parent of the group at the time of the collapse.<\/p>\n

It said investigations into the collapse included reviewing the group’s trading performance, solvency, the actions of directors and management, and transactions that might produce recoveries for creditors.<\/p>\n

It comes after the collapse of SolarZero, Business Correspondent Katie Bradford reports. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n

The report said a number of potential claims had been identified.<\/p>\n

The liquidators said creditors yet to be adjudicated are owed an estimated $476 million. Any money recovered through the proceedings would be distributed in accordance with the Companies Act.<\/p>\n

Companies Office records show the company was known as Lunar Infinity Limited at the time the proceedings were filed.<\/p>\n

Government-owned NZ Green Investment Finance made a $145 million loan<\/a> to SolarZero.<\/p>\n

“Following an extensive investigation into the company’s financial position, governance records, financing arrangements and related transactions, we have concluded it is appropriate to commence proceedings.<\/p>\n

“The proceedings have been filed on behalf of the company and if successful, any funds recovered will be allocated to stakeholders in accordance with schedule 7 of the Companies Act 1993.”<\/p>\n

The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including a serious incident south of Auckland, fiery protests in France, and a jump off Auckland\u2019s tallest residential tower. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The liquidators of collapsed solar power company solarZero have launched High Court proceedings against four former directors, alleging…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":618001,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[138,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-618000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=618000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/618001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=618000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=618000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=618000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}