Post by Waterstone

The taxman cometh - July 2026 Newsletter Hi there, It turns out that an apple a day doesn't keep the taxman away. One of our largest fruit empires, Kiwi Crunch Hawke's Bay, has officially rolled into voluntary administration, while its subsidiary, Crasborn Fresh Harvest, found itself under the pruning shears of IRD who put them into liquidation over a casual $19 million tax tab. That is a lot of apples. Over in the dairy sector, Synlait has managed to dodge corporate extinction by successfully hooking themselves up to financial life support by securing a $320 million bank refinancing package, topped off with a $130 million loan from their generous shareholder, Bright Dairy. They now have a two-year breathing room extension to figure out how to make milk great again. If you’ve tried to eat out or grab a local craft beer lately, you might have noticed the landscape is looking a bit bare. High-profile chef Nic Watt has put his Commercial Bay spot, Cāntīng, into liquidation, coming hot on the heels of Auckland icon SPQR calling it quits. To make matters bleaker, a small army of independent craft breweries and boutique gin distilleries have also gone under. If your business strategy involves "ignoring letters in blue envelopes," you might want to rethink it. The IRD has officially run out of patience, launching liquidation applications at nearly six times the rate seen just two years ago. While the construction sector still holds the highest volume of collapses, hospitality is sprinting to catch up with a massive 49% annual spike in closures. If there is any comfort to take from this economic squeeze, it is that insolvency practitioners are finally getting a workout. One local liquidator recently joked that business is so busy, they might actually be able to afford a flat white and an avocado toast in central Auckland this weekend. Of course, he'll have to find a café that is still open first. Stay solvent out there, Benno Stander Ps. subscribe to the newsletter to see it first. https://waterstone.co.nz