A Christchurch townhouse linked to a businessman who calls himself "NZ’s Donald Trump" is heading to auction following the collapse of his business.
Bernard Whimp’s investment company Chance Voight Investment Corporation Limited and 28 related entities have been placed into liquidation after the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) launched a formal investigation into the group last year.
An interim liquidator’s report by PwC to the High Court of New Zealand in January confirmed most of the investors appeared to be aged 65 years old and over and often lacked understanding of the full risk profile of the investments. It also concluded that they were insolvent.
As a result, the FMA asked the High Court to place Chance Voight Investment Corporation and five core entities into liquidation. The liquidator’s first report for the six companies was published last month and put the total shortfall to creditors at $27.78m.
Start your property search
A further 23 entities linked to the group were placed into liquidation earlier this month after the court found they were also insolvent or inactive.
Bernard Whimp is the director of Chance Voight Investment Corporation Limited and 28 related entities that have been put in liquidation. Photo / Supplied
Teneo Financial Advisory’s John Fisk, Lara Bennett and Malcolm Hollis have been appointed liquidators for the Chance Voight Group and have been tasked with realising the companies’ assets. The group’s assets include 11 residential and commercial properties and vacant sections in or around Canterbury, according to the PwC interim liquidation report.
A three-bedroom, one-bathroom house at 1/394 Papanui Road, in Papanui, is the first of the group's properties to be listed for sale.
Harcourts agent Tristram Harcourt, who is marketing the property, declined to comment on the sale, but in his listing he said the David Allen architecturally designed home was being sold in a liquidator’s auction. The property has an RV of $830,000 and last changed hands for $770,000 in March 2022.
Discover more:
- Fastest market in New Zealand: Where homes are selling in as little as 10 days
- Owner in tears after she scores an extra $200k at ‘unbelievable’ auction
- Former Bendon boss and Bachcare founder list their $6m-plus ‘house in the sky’
Rangiora-based Chance Voight Investment Corporation Limited, of which Whimp is the sole director, was set up in 2021 and, as of December 2025, had raised $54.2m in funds from the public via offers of investment in shares and debt securities. Investors were promised returns of up to 13% generated by investments in real estate and ASX-listed shareholdings.
However, none of the assets produced material income for the group and, as of September 2025, it had a negative net asset position of $11.8m, a High Court judgment found.
The FMA started making inquiries into Chance Voight Investment Corporation at the end of 2024 after receiving multiple complaints. A formal investigation was launched in September last year.
Stuff reported in January this year that Whimp had sent an email to staff asking them to return to work. In the email, he said he was in the “most glorious punch-up” with the FMA and was enjoying his “elevation to New Zealand’s ‘Donald Trump’”.
- 1/394 Papanui Road, in Papanui, Christchurch, goes to auction on October 21
