- A private “school” linked to failed property influencer Ashley Dean Binnie sold for $700,000 at auction.
- The property, home to Enrichment Studio, was unconsented and sold below its $990,000 RV.
- Jenna Binnie, Ashley’s wife, ran the unregistered education business, which went into liquidation owing over $200,000.
A private “school” linked to a failed property influencer has sold under the hammer for $700,000 at a mortgagee auction.
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The unconsented building on a 1ha lifestyle block on Mahurangi East Road, in Snells Beach, had attracted huge interest during the marketing campaign, but only one person put their hand up in the auction room.
The sale price is well below its RV of $990,000, which included a land value of $980,000.
The property was home to Enrichment Studio, a private “school”, which promoted itself as a “much-needed” alternative to traditional education.
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 the education business from an unconsented building on a 1ha lifestyle block. It was placed in liquidation in May, owing over $200,000.
The unconsented property had an outdoor kitchen and bathroom and had been home to an education facility. Photo / Supplied
The 1ha property has an RV of $990,000. Photo / Supplied Photo / Supplied
It follows the liquidation of Enrichment’s parent company, Atlas Holdings, in which Jenna had shares but whose sole director was Ashley Binnie.
When asked to comment on the result of today’s mortgagee sale, Jenna told OneRoof: “We hope that whoever has purchased the land will have a wonderful adventure on the property and enjoy living in such a warm and happy community. We wish them and our neighbours the very best.”
The auction of 576A Mahurangi East Road opened at $600,000, followed by a vendor bid of $650,000. Another bid took the price to $660,000 before the auction paused for negotiation. The auction resumed with a bid of $700,000, and the property was promptly announced on the market and sold.
Harcourts listing agent Mark Fitzgerald said the buyer was from West Auckland and planned to build a new home on the site and get compliance for the existing dwelling.
The unconsented property, which had an outdoor kitchen and bathroom, had attracted a different crowd to the usual flippers who turn up to mortgagee sales, he said.
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Fitzgerald, who was acting on behalf of lender Basecorp Finance, earlier told OneRoof that he expected the property to sell for land value only because the building was unconsented.
Auckland Council confirmed to OneRoof that no consents had been received for the building, and the right course of action for the new owner would be to apply for a Certificate of Acceptance.
The dwelling was not eligible under the new rules introducing an exemption for certain standalone dwellings because it was built before they became law on January 15, 2026, the council said.
Jenna was the sole director of Enrichment Studio, and since its collapse, she has set up a new company called Enrichment Tutoring.
The property was linked to failed property coach and flipper Ashley Dean Binnie (pictured) and his wife Jenna. Photo / Supplied
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.
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”.
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 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.
Three other properties – two run-down ex-state houses in Palmerston North and a renovated house in Mangakino – linked to Binnie have already been sold in mortgagee sales.
* Do you know more about Ashley Binnie? Email Nikki Preston at [email protected]
