The end of a luxury car dealership in Petone has blindsided financiers and Wellington elites, including philanthropist Sir Mark Dunajtschik, who says he considered the business owner to have been like a son.
The man behind the children's hospital told RNZ he hadn't given up on Simon O'Reilly, who he said owed him a "substantial amount" of money, and was now rumoured to be in Europe.
Car dealership O'Reilly's Garage was on Wednesday placed into receivership, with Avanti Finance appointing receivers BDO.
Sir Mark told RNZ earlier this week he loaned O'Reilly the capital to start the dealership in 2018 and "was surprised like everybody else".
O'Reilly had always kept up with the interest on the loan, Sir Mark told RNZ, however, he'd subsequently taken what steps he could to protect himself financially.
"I trusted him all those years like he was my son and I haven't given up faith in him," he said.
Sir Mark said he last heard from O'Reilly about six months ago and believed he was now in Greece, but he wasn't going to chase him.
"It doesn't make a difference to me, whether he is on the moon or in Greece ... why should I spend my time trying to fathom out where he is? He's not here."
O'Reilly has not responded to RNZ's phone calls and messages, and a former employee at the car dealership declined to comment.
No one answered the gate buzzer when RNZ visited O'Reilly's Khandallah property on Thursday, but a neighbour said they'd seen two moving trucks outside the home a week ago. Another neighbour said there had been packing up activity at night.
The street's residents hadn't seen the family for a couple of weeks, but mentioned they had some "nice" looking cars.
The dealership on Hutt Road is currently up for lease and promoted by listing agent Bayleys as an "outstanding opportunity to secure a high-profile showroom".
When RNZ visited this week, the doors were closed and the car lot was empty.
O'Reilly's Garage - renowned for its high-end luxury cars - also bought and sold vehicles on consignment for Wellington's supercar-loving community.
While the business's website remained live, zero cars were listed for sale. Its previously sold section boasted a range of vehicles, including a 1997 Aston Martin AMV8, 2022 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS, and a 2010 Ferrari California.
O'Reilly's Garage also became a dealer for Foton - spruiking the Chinese-made ute on its Facebook page - but Foton NZ confirmed the dealership ended the arrangement recently.
This week, the O'Reilly's Garage Facebook page appeared to have been taken down.
Well-known property investor and supercar enthusiast Steve Goodey, who said he'd had dealings with O'Reilly in the past, was less sanguine about the developments and the position in which Sir Mark found himself.
"In Wellington, he's the closest thing we've got to a saint right?"
Goodey has complained to the Registrar of Motor Vehicle Traders at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) over the sale of his Ferrari Portofino.
In recent correspondence seen by RNZ, Goodey told the MBIE Registrar he wasn't chasing his money.
"That's gone. I'm writing so it's on record that your office had this man in front of it two years ago and let him walk."
When RNZ asked MBIE about criticism that it did not do enough to investigate O'Reilly, registrar Duncan Connor said it had received two complaints.
"The first, received in 2024, was investigated and closed after no breach of the [Motor Vehicle Sales Act] was identified."
He said a second complaint had only just been received this month and was "currently under assessment".
Goodey said while the abrupt end to O'Reilly's Garage wasn't a surprise to him, it had shocked others.
"Other people had very different relationships with Simon O'Reilly. You know, a lot of people just didn't see it coming. He's a real smooth guy."
Financiers scramble
According to the NZ Companies Register, the last annual return for O'Reilly's Garage was filed in May this year.
The Personal Property Securities Register records 36 financing statements registered against O'Reilly's Garage Ltd, with Avanti Finance a secured party on 29 of them. "Motor Vehicles" are included in the assets held as security.
Director of MTF Finance at the Lower Hutt Franchise, Geoff Kenny, said he had two secured loans with O'Reilly.
He said while a boat - a halmatic 22 metre - had been found through a "little bit of detective work", the motorhome was a different story.
"We have walked away from the security because the customer bought that motorhome off O'Reilly's Garage in good faith, and paid for it in good faith."
Kenny said any claim on the loan would have to be with O'Reilly directly.
"He should never have sold the vehicle while he had money owing on it to us."
He said up until last week, when he learned the business and O'Reilly had apparently gone, there'd never been any issues.
"It's just a sad situation. And I'd say just about everybody was blindsided because this was a guy who most people thought was a great guy, a good car dealer, and financially strong.
"This one has come as a big surprise, I think, to a lot of people."
