If you provide leasing finance, or have lent money for the purchase of an asset by a third party, your interest in the asset may be lost in the event of the third party going into liquidation. This can also extend to the leasing, hiring or lending of assets to third parties. We strongly recommend that you register your security interest on the Personal Property Security Register. To obtain the highest level of priority, this should be done contemporaneously with or before the provision of the finance or delivery of the asset.
The Receivers of the Forge Group are taking action in the NSW Supreme Court attempting to obtain control of $50 million worth of gas turbines that APR Energy (the owners) leased to the Forge Group, but failed to secure with a PPSA registered charge. Ownership no longer provides the rights to goods that it once did!
In another example of an owners loss of title to its own goods, the owners of a food vending machine situated in the premises of a Company that has been placed into Liquidation, has had its ownership of its food vending machine usurped by the Liquidator. For the sake of the small fee required for the Registration of the owners PPSR interest in the food vending machine, the Liquidator would have handed back the food vending machine to its owner rather than claiming title to the food vending machine and selling the goods.
If you would like more advice with regard to the Personal Property Security Act and its implications please contact one of our Solicitors.
AUG