Blue Chip founder hit with $11m debt

Blue Chip co-founder Mark Bryers has racked up another debt - this time $11.2 million to Westpac.

The High Court last week awarded summary judgment to Westpac NZ Ltd against Bryers after he guaranteed a company debt.

The judgment, which opens the door for bankruptcy proceedings, is among several already awarded against Bryers, including one for $4m.

So far the head of the failed Blue Chip group has eluded bankruptcy and continues to run a property investment business in Australia.

Citing client confidentiality, Westpac declined to specify the name of the company, the full amount of the debt or whether the bank planned to proceed with bankruptcy proceedings.

Bryers' business partner, Bob Bangerter, was bankrupted in April by Wellington property magnate Bob Jones' company after $398,000 in rent was left unpaid in an Auckland tower block following the Blue Chip collapse.

After a group of Blue Chip-related companies went into liquidation in February last year, thousands of investors were left a combined $80m out of pocket.

Bryers, 51, also faces more than 100 criminal charges brought by the Companies Office and seven charges relating to a lodge he managed on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula.