Receivers have been appointed to childcare enterprise The Rainbow Group of Companies Limited owned by Bucklands Beach couple Rrahul and Bhavini Dosshi.
Stephen White and John Fisk of PwC were appointed as receivers of The Rainbow Group and certain associated companies on March 14.
The group consists of 13 Rainbow Corner early childhood education (ECE) centres situated across New Zealand, a network of in-home based childcare providers and an ECE private training establishment which employed around 130 staff.
“We are yet to have fully established the factors contributing to the financial issues faced by the group, but expect that suspensions and cancellation of a number of ECE licenses – which have attracted recent media scrutiny – will have contributed,” said White.
A consequence of the receivership is that any ECE licenses held by companies in receivership were automatically suspended upon the appointment of the receivers. Accordingly, the receivers have had to suspend childcare operations with immediate effect.
“We appreciate that these closures will cause a number of families significant disruption in the coming days, but unfortunately there was no alternative option under the circumstances,” said White.
“The receivers are working closely with the Ministry of Education to minimise the impact on families to the greatest extent possible.”
The receivers will be briefing staff and contacting customers and other stakeholders to update them on the impact of the receivership, while also determining options available to maximise recoveries for the Group’s creditors.
Rrahul [also spelled Rahul] and Bhavini Dosshi [also spelled Doshi] became the sole owners of Porse in-home childcare and the Porse training business in early 2019.
The sale of Porse was completed in December 2018. Their registered office was on East Tamaki Road.
The Dosshis opened their first Rainbow Corner centre in Gisborne in 2011.
The Rainbow Corner website names Bhavini as the founder and CEO and said she was a finalist in the Best Business Woman in 2018.
It said Rrahul brought more than 26 years of international management experience to the group. The majority of his career, it said, was spent in leadership roles in the maritime industry. He is a graduate in business management from Massey University.
The Times has attempted contacting the couple.