- A private Auckland "school" linked to Ashley Dean Binnie has collapsed and is being sold at auction.
- Enrichment Studio, run by Jenna Binnie, ceased operations owing over $300,000 and was not registered as a school.
- The property at 576A Mahurangi East Road has an unconsented building, affecting its value and sale.
A private Auckland “school” that promoted itself as a "much-needed" alternative to traditional education has collapsed, and is now being sold at a mortgagee auction.
Start your property search
Enrichment Studio is linked to failed property influencer and investor Ashley Dean Binnie, whose companies have gone into liquidation owing more than $2m.
His wife, Jenna, had been running an education business from an unconsented building on a 1ha lifestyle block at 576A Mahurangi East Road, in Snells Beach, since last year.
The business, Enrichment Studio Limited, was placed in liquidation in May, owing over $200,000.
It follows the liquidation of Enrichment's parent company, Atlas Holdings, in which Jenna had shares but whose sole director was Ashley Binnie.
The two-bedroom building at 576A Mahurangi East Road, in Auckland's Snells Beach, is not consented. Photo / Supplied
It is believed the Binnies ran an education business from the building. Photo / Supplied
The 1ha property has an RV of just under $1m. Photo / Supplied
Jenna was the sole director of Enrichment Studio, and since its collapse, she has set up a new company, Enrichment Tutoring.
The liquidator’s first report for Enrichment Studio described the business as a “private school”, but a spokesperson for the Ministry of Education said it wasn't registered as such.
“It was not provided with funding, nor were there any students enrolled for formal instruction,” the spokesperson said.
However, Jenna, who was the sole director of Enrichment Studio, told OneRoof that "part-time tutoring operations do not need to be registered with the Ministry of Education".
Enrichment Studio’s website, which is no longer active, described the business as a “private learning studio offering personalised education for children in a calm, homely, supportive environment”.
Jenna told Junction Magazine in its March publication that she was launching a “much-needed alternative to traditional education” with student-teacher ratios of 1:10, independent learning programmes and a focus on being in the outdoors.
Discover more:
- 'Dear friend': Du Val founder pops up in influencer's flipping video
- Mortgagee properties linked to failed property coach sell for a loss
- Sole bidder snaps up Auckland party house, says no to ‘free’ Lamborghini
The magazine described Enrichment Studio as a school "nestled among a citrus orchard in Algies Bay" that would provide a "space where children can flourish academically, socially, and emotionally".
Jenna told the magazine she grew up with undiagnosed dyslexia and struggled in school. “In some ways, I’m creating the solution I needed as a child,” she said. “I want my children, and the children who enter our space, to be spared some of the difficulties I faced.”
She said Enrichment Studio would produce “resilient, confident individuals who can contribute positively to their communities”.
An advertisement for Enrichment Studio published in the magazine in May 2025 declared that a "new school with a new approach ... is opening for children aged 5 to 12. Small class sizes, individual learning programs, nature-based play and Arrowsmith sessions.”
Harcourts listing agents Mark Fitzgerald and James Dixon have been appointed by the lender, Basecorp Finance Limited, to sell 576A Mahurangi East Road at auction on July 9.
Ashley Binnie, pictured, and Jenna were directors of Atlas Holdings, the parent company of Enrichment Studio. Put companies have been placed in liquidation. Photo / Supplied
Ashley ran a property flipping business and was active on social media. Photo / Supplied
Fitzgerald told OneRoof the sale was complicated because there was an unconsented building on the property.
In his listing, Fitzgerald says the two-bedroom, "low-maintenance building could easily be a cracker of a bach set in its own citrus orchard".
However, he noted that "based on the information at our disposal, the building does not appear to have a CCC".
When asked about the unconsented building last week, Jenna told OneRoof that "consents are not required for detached buildings under 30sqm as per Schedule 1A of the Building Act". A notice to fix was reviewed by the council and closed, she said.
Auckland Council general manager of building consents Ian McCormick confirmed no consents had been received for the structure in question and the right course of action now would be to apply for a Certificate of Acceptance. The dwelling was not eligible under the new rules introducing exemption for certain standalone dwellings because it was built before they became law on 15 January 2026, he said.
Fitzgerald said there were solar panels on the roof of the building, but there was no evidence that they were supplying power to the property.
“I tried the lights, and they didn’t work, and James tried the water, and it didn’t work, so the pump is not going,” he told OneRoof.
He said the property would be "an attractive proposition to someone who wants to roll their sleeves up and address the issues", but the unconsented building would have a significant impact on the property’s value.
The RV is $990,000, of which $980,000 is for the land.
Neighbours had told the agents that the property had been run as a school for about a year and was currently unoccupied.
Property title records show the property had been subdivided into three sections, and the title for 576A Mahurangi East Road was not issued until November 2025. Enrichment Studio took ownership in January 2026.
A "notice to fix" was issued to the previous owners in November 2025 after the council found that the building on the site was over 30sqm and included a kitchen, shower, basin and associated plumbing and drainage. Auckland Council confirmed the notice was no longer relevant because they were nontransferable between owners.
Auckland Council received a resource consent application from Enrichment Studio in September last year for the property to be used as a private primary/intermediate school with a maximum roll of 20 students. It was withdrawn in January this year.
Enrichment Studio Limited owned the land at 576A Mahurangi East Road, and Atlas Holdings owned the dwelling, according to the liquidator’s report.
Atlas Holdings was also the parent company for Ashley Binnie’s property coaching and investment firm, Ascend Advisory Limited (formerly Ashley Dean Limited), which was also placed in liquidation in April.
The collapse of Ascend Advisory Limited prompted former clients to speak to OneRoof about the work Ashley had done for them.
Some claimed that he had left them thousands of dollars out of pocket. Two allege he didn’t deliver on agreements he had with them to manage and renovate flips, saying the work he did was substandard. And a couple who signed up for one of Binnie’s coaching courses on AI in property claim that the system he provided fell well short of what he promised.
Ashley could be banned from starting any new companies – and could be forced to close one he’s just set up, Signal Theory Limited - as a result of the liquidations.
* Do you know more about Ashley Binnie? Email Nikki Preston at [email protected]
- 576A Mahurangi East Road, Snells Beach, Auckland, goes to auction on July 9
