Luxury marketplace Reebonz in creditors' voluntary liquidation

LUXURY marketplace Reebonz, which recently made headlines for owing sellers payment, has appointed a provisional liquidator to wind up the company as it buckled under liabilities estimated to be about S$65 million.

Its director Samuel Lim Kok Eng took out notices in The Business Times (BT) on Sept 10 to inform creditors that Reebonz is in creditors' voluntary liquidation, as it "cannot by reason of its liabilities continue its business".

The troubled luxury marketplace appointed provisional liquidator Tee Wey Lih of Acres Advisory on Sept 3 to handle the winding-up of the company. Reebonz’s liabilities, said Acres Advisory in response to BT queries, are estimated to be in the region of S$65m with the bulk of the exposure to financial institutions. 

Acres has only commenced work this week, and therefore information as of now is preliminary, BT was told. 

The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority business profile of Reebonz showed that UOB had registered charges on the company’s money in 2014 and 2019. 

Temasek-backed Vertex Ventures and Mediacorp were early investors in Reebonz.

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Vertex Ventures told BT it is no longer an investor in Reebonz which was founded in 2009.

Reebonz was delisted from the Nasdaq last year, some 17 months after it went on the US stock exchange, as it failed to maintain a minimum share price of US$1 for more than 30 days.

Despite having thrown in the towel, the luxury marketplace operator on its website said that it is undergoing maintenance from Sept 4, and all orders till Sept 3 will be fulfilled."We will not be accepting new orders. We will keep you updated on what's brewing very soon," the website said.

In a creditors' voluntary liquidation, directors of the company make an assessment that it is insolvent or likely to become insolvent, and pass resolutions to put the company into provisional liquidation.

The liquidation is then confirmed by a subsequent meeting of shareholders, followed by a meeting of the creditors. At the meeting, the creditors have an opportunity to decide if they want to keep the provisional liquidator nominated by the company, or if they wish to change the liquidator.

Reebonz was reported to have owed more than S$30,000 to 11 sellers on its platform as at Aug 26, according to complaints lodged with the Consumers Association of Singapore. Sellers complained they had not received payments for a few months, although the agreed payout period is 20 business days.

Under this service, Reebonz picks up an item from the seller for free and makes an offer after an inspection. It then takes a cut of up to 40 per cent if the item is sold. Sellers are notified after the item has been sold and is past the return period, reported The Straits Times two weeks ago. They will then be paid via bank transfer or through Reebonz store credits within 20 business days.

The creditors' meeting is scheduled for Oct 1, with notices to be issued to the creditors on Sept 17.  Creditors can reach out to the provisional liquidator by e-mail at contactus@acresadvisory.com or telephone number 6535 0146.