mcgrath nicols finished picking the bones

Some Southern comfort

RECEIVER McGrath Nicol tapped the mat yesterday as Responsible Entity for most of the defunct Great Southern Group's managed investment schemes, handing that privilege to liquidator Ferrier Hodgson, with a view to a wind-up. The former's now found new managers for all the timber schemes, bar 2007 and 2008, two of the vineyard schemes, and, most recently, both almond schemes, but there are still three or four vineyards and all the olive plantations that no one's put their hand up to manage. Principal Tony McGrath also noted yesterday that there was a lot more work to do, because "many of the underlying properties vest with the receivers", since they're charged to the banks.

"The properties not charged to the banks, such as the olive plantations, can be sold by the liquidators," he said.

That's good news for olive-tree buyers, since they can buy the trees and the land, once some brave soul works out how to divvy up the proceeds, since the two don't have the same owners.

Ferrier Hodgson partner and liquidator of Great Southern Managers Australia, Martin Jones, said the planned handover of RE status would not affect the schemes where a replacement RE had been found, such as Gunns. But he noted his firm "remains unfunded at this point", which means it is "considering the transitional issues and our ability to perform the functions of the RE".

As Tony McGrath once noted, managed investment schemes were never designed to be picked apart.