Liquidators of the failed construction company Mainzeal have not ruled out the possibility of legal action against its directors.
Mainzeal went into receivership and liquidation in February owing creditors more than $90 million. Most of the money owed is to unsecured creditors, many of them tradesmen or sub-contractors.
About 200 creditors met the company's liquidator BDO in Auckland on Wednesday.
One of the liquidators, Brian Mayo-Smith, says at this stage he cannot say how much money will be returned, only that there will be a substantial shortfall.
As part of BDO's investigation Mr Mayo-Smith says they will look into the events that led up to the demise of the company, but again says it's too early to say whether the Serious Fraud Office should be called in.
BDO would not confirm the current amount received or owed to the receivers of Mainzeal, PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
None of Mainzeal's current or former directors were at the meeting to answer creditors' questions.
Jens Braasch runs a small steel company and says he doesn't expect get any money back, but was pleased to hear the collapse of the company will be investigated.
Ken Burrows, who represents two of the contractors, says a lot of companies owed money by Mainzeal are hurting, and it could take years to finalise the liquidation, meaning they too could collapse.
Mr Burrows says legal action could get some money back, but that is also likely to take years.
