Former Timbercorp investors may be forced to fight for investments they made in Rewards Group Limited after the board of the Australian agribusiness firm appointed administrators last month.
Litigation firm, Macpherson + Kelley Lawyers (M+K), has been monitoring the situation of Rewards Group for many months after clients involved in its proceedings against Timbercorp raised concerns, M+K principal Ron Willemsen said.
"It so happened that some people who were investors in Timbercorp projects came to M+K for advice about their Timbercorp situation and they asked if we could also help them with issues of concern relating to similar investments they held in Rewards Group projects," Willemsen said.
"We began investigating some of the background and closely monitoring the progress of a Senate Select Committee which itself, as part of its enquiry into food production in Australia, has been receiving evidence about agribusiness managed investment schemes.
"We have also read submissions made to, and the report issued by, the Parliamentary Joint Committee which conducted a public enquiry into the collapses of the country's largest agribusiness managed investment schemes."
Financial planners and accounts also referred concerned investors to the group, Willemsen said.
Rewards Group is the tenant on all of the property of listed investment firm Ark Fund (Ark).
In March this year Ark entered a merger implementation agreement with Rewards, an Ark company statement said.
As part of the proposed merger, both groups approached National Australia Bank (NAB) over a finance agreement.
The agreement between NAB and Rewards Group has been terminated and Ark remains in its own discussions with the banking group.
Ferrier Hodgson partners Martin Jones, Andrew Saker and Darren Weaver were appointed as joint administrators of the Rewards Group and a number of its subsidiaries, including Rewards Projects Limited, on 17 May.
