One of the last of the listed managed investment schemes has fallen over, with receivers and managers appointed to Willmott Forests.

The board of the troubled Willmott today said that its syndicate of banks – including Commonwealth Bank and St George Bank – had appointed Mark Mentha and Bryan Webster of Korda Mentha after scrapping waivers to the $120 million they are owed.

Commonwealth Bank is also a major shareholder, with 9.75 per cent, just behind managing director Marcus Derham, who with almost 20 per cent is the largest stakeholder.

The syndicate had granted temporary waivers as Willmott undertook a business review, including the sale of land assets to repay debt, after striking trouble on lower than expected sales in full-year 2010.

“The syndicate has today advised Willmott Forrests that the temporary waiver is terminated and that all loans are immediately due and payable,” Willmott said.

Willmott had about 8000 investors that have put $400m into the company focused on establishing, managing, harvesting, processing and supplying timber products from plantation-grown resources on behalf of its growers and shareholders.

According to its website, the company employs 130-plus people and manages more than 56,000 hectares of pine, silky oak and she-oak plantations, predominantly on Australia’s east coast.

Willmott is one of the older forestry-based managed investments and is the responsible entity for a number of Woodlot investment projects.

But Willmott in July conceded that the retail investment market for forestry-based agricultural products had “severely contracted” from full-year 2009 levels.

Willmott last traded at 32 cents, giving it a market value of about $45m, after trading as high as $2.93 in February 2005. The company in July requested its shares be suspended despite the “early support” of “key stakeholders” engaged in its review.

The company also warned its full-year 2010 and 2011 results may be “materially lower” than its recent trading performance.

Willmott reported a 130 per cent increase in first-half net profit after tax to $9.57m for the six months to December 31, 2009.

The company joins Timbercorp, Great Southern, Perth-based Rewards Group and a number of other businesses associated with Tasmanian group Forest Enterprises Australia to go to corporate rescuers or liquidators.

(Source: TheAustralian.com.au)