Stonewood franchise sold to Chow Brothers

The brothers, whose assets include commercial property, hotels and strip clubs, said the deal covered both the national franchise rights and the Christchurch franchisee.

"Stonewood complements our office, retail, accommodation, and car park property portfolio," John Chow said in a statement in Christchurch on Wednesday. 

"This purchase signals our clear intention to repair recent damage to the brand and to re-establish the Stonewood brand nationally on a very firm footing."

Last Thursday, the Chow brothers and Webber met the 44 remaining employees of the company and offered them "new contracts on similar terms", they said in a statement.

"While we still have quite a process to work through with the receivers, our next step will be to engage urgently with customers with uncompleted homes.

"It's vital we provide certainty for customers who have been affected. We have a management team of eleven here in Christchurch to seal the deal but we ask for tolerance from affected parties," Webber said.

Shortly after the company was placed in receivership, 41 staff were laid off.

Grant Graham of KordaMentha said the sale to Inno Capital included the business and assets of the companies.

The "prompt sale" was the best possible outcome in the circumstances, he said.