Bankrupted on guarantee of a bank loan to her software start-up The Work Shop, Melissa Gollan argued the debt was not hers alone, liability should lie also with an intending investor who later backed out.
The $350,000 debt was hers alone, the High Court ruled. She signed the guarantee. There was no evidence of the intended new investor becoming liable for her business debts.
Wellington-based Melissa Linda Gollan attracted media attention with Work Shop, offering software to manage business expenses.
In 2024, she guaranteed Work Shop’s lending facility with Bank of New Zealand.
She later claimed the Bank facility was intended as a bridging loan, with a one million equity investment expected from a Bay of Plenty Charitable Trust managed by Ricki Gage: Te Runanga o Te Whanau.
She told the High Court that BNZ was aware that she held a ‘signed post-dated share transfer’ for Te Whanau’s expected investment.
This investment never came through.
When BNZ took action to bankrupt Ms Gollan on her guarantee of Workshop’s unpaid $350,000 debt, she said this was not solely her debt; Te Whanau ‘shared’ liability, she claimed.
There was no evidence of any arrangement between BNZ and Te Whanau having Te Whanau provide security for Work Shop’s overdraft, Associate Judge Skelton said.
Ms Gollan, as sole guarantor, was liable for the full amount.
BNZ was justified in refusing Ms Gollan’s offer to make repayments by instalments, he said. She had made no repayments since notice of default in July 2024, and had provided no evidence of her current personal financial position.
BNZ v. Gollan – High Court (15.10.25)
25.219