Yet it accumulated big debts to the point where it owed more than $9.7m to all classes of creditors before it failed two years ago.<\/p>\n
Bunnings, Noel Leeming, Deloitte and BDO Auckland were among the long list of creditors.<\/p>\n
Secured and preferential creditors fared considerably better.<\/p>\n
Fourteen secured creditors claimed $1.04m and recovered $1.02m after assets were sold. They included K\u0101inga Ora, Heartland Bank, Red Stag Timber, Carters Building Supplies and Fletcher Distribution businesses PlaceMakers and Metal Line Roofing.<\/p>\n
Preferential claims of $200,587 were paid in full. They comprised $124,976 of employee entitlements, $53,921 owed to Inland Revenue and $21,690 owed to a related party for funding provided during the liquidation.<\/p>\n
The first Mt Albert block on Richardson Rd\/Hendon Ave under construction. Photo \/ Property Partners Group<\/p>\n
Liquidators were appointed in mid-2024. <\/p>\n
The company\u2019s first modular apartment block made from pre-assembled pods was at 159 Hendon Ave in \u014cwairaka.<\/p>\n
At the time of appointment, Evergreen Modular employed 34 fulltime staff who had accrued $60,376 in wages and $83,459 in holiday pay.<\/p>\n
All staff were immediately let go, but some were re-employed on a casual contract. <\/p>\n
Before liquidation, Evergreen had made 21 staff redundant. Those 21 were owed $30,804 in holiday pay. <\/p>\n
Total accrued holiday pay and wages was $174,639.<\/p>\n
Steve Mikkelsen, a director of Evergreen Modular, appeared in a video showcasing businesses which were construction accord beacons.<\/p>\n
All preferential claims were paid in full.<\/p>\n
The liquidators indicated the sale of the large \u014cwairaka apartment block<\/a> on Richardson Rd\/Hendon Ave, which Evergreen was building when it failed.<\/p>\n Efforts focused on preserving the value of that development. Evergreen did pre-built modules.<\/p>\n The principal lender provided funding to support essential preservation and maintenance activities, including wages, site security, module maintenance and other site-related costs required to protect and maintain the development. <\/p>\n \u201cResponsibility for the ongoing development was subsequently transferred to a third party. Following negotiations with the funder, the 72 bespoke modules were sold on April 30, 2025 for $1,218,000, excluding GST,\u201d the liquidators said.<\/p>\n The Herald covered <\/a>Evergreen when it was trading in 2023, publishing an article headlined \u201cFrom Sweden to \u014cwairaka: First of three modular timber housing blocks up\u201d.<\/p>\n The first of three modular apartment blocks, designed and made in a south Auckland factory but based on a Swedish system, went up at an \u014cwairaka site.<\/p>\n Steve Mikkelsen and Ty Jones are Evergreen\u2019s directors and Mikkelsen told in 2023 what the business was doing. <\/p>\n Pod housing units were made in a Wiri factory, then trucked to the site and craned into place, one on top of the other.<\/p>\n A video clip showed construction of the Richardson Rd block, where the first stage of the $90m project had risen on land Property Partners bought from K\u0101inga Ora.<\/p>\n Evergreen was part of the wider Build Partners group, which was building 91 apartments for K\u0101inga Ora when it failed. Property Partners Group developed apartment and townhouse projects often utilising pre-built modules from Evergreen, including several projects developed for or in conjunction with K\u0101inga Ora.<\/p>\n Evergreen Modular\u2019s final report was filed on October 21.<\/p>\n The company will be removed from the Companies Office. <\/p>\nIntegrated Modular Build, an Australian modular apartment builder, failed part-way into $20m Kainga Ora projects. Photo \/ File<\/p>\n
Work by Build Partners, creating for new state homes for K\u0101inga Ora on Cadman Ave, Waterview. Photo \/ Jason Oxenham<\/p>\n